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NEW YORK 

HOVSEvS 



1900 



EARLY NEW YORK HOVSES 
WITH HISTORICAL 0^ GEN- 
EALOGICAL NOTES BY' 

WILLIAM S.PELLETREAV,A.M. 
PHOTOGRAPHS OFOLDHOVSES 
C-ORIGINAL ILLVSTRATIONSBY 
C.G.MOLLER. JR. y y y v v v v v v v 



<&-;-??. 




IN TEN PARTS 



FRANCIS P.HARPER, PVBLIS HER 
NEW YORK,A.D.jQOO^ * vvvvvvvv 



1A 

Library of Coi 

NOV 13 1900 

SECOND COPY 

Oeliv. 
ORDER DIVISION 
MAR. 2 1901 



fit,* 

P3b 



..^..^•^•^Si^jSb;^^;^^. 








To the memory 
of 

WILLIAM KELBY 

I^ate librarian of the 

New York Historical Society 

Whose labors of careful patient and successful research 
have been equalled by few — surpassed by none. 



Natvs, 
MDCCCXU 



Decessit, 
MDCCCXCVIII 




JIT TIBI TERRA LEVIJ 



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1 St. Phuup's Church, Centre; Street Page 

2 Old Houses on " Monkey Hill " 

3 The Oldest Houses in Lafayette Place 

4 The Site of Captain Kidd's House 

5 Old Houses on York Street 

6 The Merchant's Exchange 

7 Old Houses Corner of Watts and Hudson Streets 

8 Baptist Church on Fayette Street, 1808 . . 

9 The House in which "The Night Before Christmas" was 

Written 

10 Franklin Square, in 1856 

11 The First Tammany Hall 

12 Houses on Bond Street 

13 The Homestead of Casper Samler 

14 The Tank of the Manhattan Water Company 

15 Residence of General Winfield Scott 

16 The Last Dwelling House on Broadway, (The Goelet Mansion) 

17 Old Houses on Cornelia Street , 

18 The Last of LE Roy Place 

19 Northeast Corner of Fifth Avenue and Sixteenth Street . . 

20 No. 25 Lafayette Place 

21 The Golden Eagle Inn 

22 Belmont Mansion, Fifth Avenue 

23 The House in which President James Monroe Died 

24 New York Hotel 

25 Fraunces' Tavern 

26 The Government House and its Surroundings 

27 The Apthorpe Mansion 



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ILHJJTR.ATIONJ 

28 Metropolitan Hotel Page 125\, 

29 The Old London Gate " 129 

30 Walhalla Hall " 133 ^ 

31 House of Garrit Furman, No. 94 Madison Street " 137"// 

32 The " Church of the Strangers " " 141^, 

33 The Jumel Mansion " 145^- 

34 The Gemmell House, Duane and Broadway. . . ; " 151 \ 

35 The Houses on Bowling Green " 157^, 

36 House No. 28 Cliff Street " 161^ 

37 Mulberry Bend " 165 y 

38 The Colonnade Houses on Broadway " 171^' 

39 Hebrew Synagogue, West 19th Street " 175 N 

40 The Van Ness Mansion " 181 

41 Last Dwelling House on Union Square " 185^ 

42 Friends Meeting House and School, Rutherford Place .... " 189 X 

43 Dwellings of Famous Men of the Past " 195 

44 Asbury Methodist Episcopal Church " 201 / 

45 Broadway, West Side Opposite Bowling Green " 205'' 

46 Five Points in 1860 " 211^ 

47 State Street " 215 i 

48 Broad Street in 1796 " 219' 

49 Entrance to Brooklyn Bridge, 1857 " 225^ 

50 Union Theological Seminary " 231^ 



TAIL PIECES 



Relics of Old Monkey Hill Page 6 



The First Wigwam 

Dr. Burdell's Residence 

Old Fraunces' Tavern 

Portrait Roger Morris 

" Mary Phillipse 

Map, Government House Lots . . . 

Bottle Alley 

Sketch of the First Synagogue . . 
Original View, 9 and 11 Broadway . 
No. 20-22 Broad Street, 1890 .... 



45 
61 
113 
149 
149 
159 
169 
179 
210 
223 






I 


>&£\°A 







p the preparation of this work the writer has 
had but one end in view. To preserve for 
future generations a correct representation of 
various places of interest which no longer 
exist, but whose history must ever be a valua- 
ble and interesting portion of the history of the city. There 
are many buildings of great interest which are not found in 
this work, for the reason that they have been reproduced so 
many times that they are familiar to all students. The most 
of the views here given are not accessible to the general pub- 
lic. The writer ventures to hope that the description attached 
to the various views will add something to the knowledge of 
the reader, and if it will be the means of exciting fresh 
interest in the study of local history, his greatest desire will 
be realized. We wish to express our sincere thanks for 
assistance furnished in the preperation of this work, especially 
to Mr. August Belmont, Mr. Gustav H. Schwab and to Mr. 
C. G. Moller, Jr., to whose facile pencil we are indebted for 
some of the most interesting illustrations. 



INTRODUCTION 

We do not feel called upon to make any apology for 
minuteness in some of the descriptions. 

One of the failures of most our local histories is to 
designate exactly where an ancient building stood. If any 
one feels inclined to doubt this, let him endeavor to locate 
the site of almost any important building of the past from 
what he can find in printed books. 

In giving values and prices of houses and lands in the 
last century, the reader will remember that the " pound " was 
New York currency and equalled $2.50, the Spanish dollar, 
of which our own is the successor, being valued at eight 

shillings. 

William S. Pelletreau. 

New York, June 1, 1900. 




No. i. St. Phillip's Church. 



EARLY NEW YORK HOVSES 
WITH HISTORICAL 0^ GEN- 
EALOGICAL NOTES BY--^ 
WILLIAM S.PELLETREAV,A.M. 
PHOTOGRAPHS OF OLD HOVSES 
^ORIGINAL ILLVSTRATIONSBY 
C.G.MOLLER, JR. v v v v v v v y v v 




IN TEN PARTS 
PART I 



FRANCIS P.HARPER, PVBLISHER 
NEW YORK,A.D.jQOO* * * * * * * » * * 




EDITION 
300 COPIES^ 
2J JAPAN PAPER 



Copyrighted 1900 by 
Francis P. Harper 




ST. PHILLIP'! CHURCH, CENTRE ITREET 



BS^WIMBtrfSiSl^Si 




p the early days of New York, there was on the 
outskirts of the city, a small lake or pond, 
known as the "Fresh Water." A steep shore 
on the west side was called the " Kalck 
Hook," and the water was sometimes called 
the " Kalck Hook Pond." This name was changed or cor- 
rupted into " Collect." In later years the pond was filled 
up and the land thus formed belonged to the city, and was 
divided into lots called the " Collect Lots," which were 
sold to various parties. A large number of these lots were 
sold to George Lorillard. On June 25, 1818, he gave a 
perpetual lease for three of these lots, No. 18-19-20, to John 
Marander, John Bees, Andrew Rankin, Thomas Zabriskie, 
John Kent, Wm. Hutson, Samuel Class, and Linn Frances. 
These were all colored men, and organized an African Church. 
They resolved to join the Episcopal Church, and the Bishop of 
the diocese issued the following : " Whereas the Trustees of 
the African Congregation, who have erected a building for 
public worship, have dedicated the same to the worship of 



EAR.LT NEW YORK. HOUiE3 



Almighty God, according to the rules of the Protestant Epis- 
copal Church, be it known that on the 3d day of July, 1819, 
I, John Henry Hobart, Bishop, have consecrated the building 
erected in Collect street, by the name of St. Phillip's Church." 
Under the fostering care of the bishop and diocese the church 
flourished and its membership increased, and retained this 
building as their place of worship till about 1860, when they 
purchased the Methodist Episcopal Church, on Mulberry 
street. The same congregation now worship in a very com- 
modious edifice on Twenty-fifth street. Collect street was 
afterwards changed to Centre street. The view here presented 
shows the entire front between Leonard and Duane streets. 
The front line of the lots of St. Phillip's Church was sixty-three 
feet. The building was fifty feet in width. The first church 
was burned in 1819, and the view shows the new church, erec- 
ted soon after. The other buildings shown in the engraving 
were erected by various parties who leased lots from George 
Lorillard, the whole presenting an accurate view of the street 
as it appeared about 1830. The sight of the swine " embracing 
his opportunity " was very characteristic of that time, when 
these animals were suffered to roam at large. All the build- 
ings have disappeared, and others more convenient, if not more 
picturesque, have taken their places. 




No. 2. Old Houses on Monkey Hill. 




OLD HOUJt\S ON "MONKEY HILL' 




|n the early days before " city improvements " 
were thought of, there was, in the vicinity 
of what is now the corner of William and 
Dnane streets, an elevation of land known 
by the popular name of " Monkey Hill." 
The land all around it was a part of the Commons of the 
city, and was at a later day divided into lots, known as 
Corporation lots, and sold and leased to various parties. The 
lots on the corner mentioned were sold to the Townsend family 
and have descended from father to son down to the present 
time. When " Monkey Hill " was leveled and the present 
street grade adopted, the buildings were left high in air, and 
houses that had formerly been entered directly from the street, 
then required a flight of stairs to reach the entrance. 

The corner building, No. 235, 237, 239 William street, 
had quite a popularity, some fifty years ago, as the " Truck- 
men's Hotel." In the open space on Duane street stood a 
pump which supplied most excellent water, which was highly 
appreciated. The story goes that in this vicinity lived the 



EARLT NEW TORK HOLiEi 



famous author of " The Old Oaken Bucket." He frequently 
passed through William street, and on one occasion, upon a par- 
ticularly warm day, he stopped to refresh himself at this 
corner pump. His companion remarking upon the excellence 
of the water, the poet replied, " yes, but it does not taste like 
that I used to get from the old oaken bucket at home." Being 
thus inspired, he wrote the immortal poem upon which his 
fame principally rests. 

The original buildings that stood here were somewhat 
remodeled when the street level was changed, but in 1894, 
they were taken down, and a large building, for business pur- 
poses, now occupies their place. The Duane street house, 
now No. 12 Duane street, was a three-story brick building 
with an old-fashioned attic and gabled roof. The William 
street house was a four-story brick building with brown stone 
trimmings and an old colonial doorway with side columns and 
a high arched fanlight. It was built about 1800, and was one 
of the elegant residences of the old Fourth Ward. It then 
looked upon gardens and green fields. The house No. 12 
Duane street was built about 1810, and here was born Ben- 
jamin Townsend, the father of Sherman B. Townsend, the 
present owner of the property. 




RELICS OF OLD MONKET HILL 

6 



No. 3. The Oldest Houses on Lafayette Place. 



THE OLDEST HOUJEJ IN LAFAYETTE PLACE 




way back in the times called by the veracious 
historian, Diedrich Knickerbocker, the "Dutch 
Dynasty," there was a tract of vacant land 
very far from the city. It was divided into 
lots and given to some free negroes. One 
of these lots was granted to Solomon Peters, and fronted on 
the Bowery lane, and included the land between Bleecker 
street and a point about half way between Third and Fourth 
streets. This afterwards came into the possession of Elbert 
Herring and formed a part of that large tract afterwards 
well-known as the "Herring Farm." Next north, was a lot 
granted to Otto Grim, and next to him came the lot of 
Francisco Carthagene, and this extended to what was called, 
in the ancient times, "the road from the Bowery lane over 
the Sand Hills to Greenwich" — a part of it is Astor Place. 
In 1754, the lot of Otto Grim was sold to Yellis Mandeville ; 
he had a daughter who married Matthew Buys, and this lot 
was given to them as a wedding gift. After their death the 
lot was divided among their five children, one of whom was 



EARLT NEW TORK HOUiEi 



Mary, wife of William Waldron. Her lot was trie south part 
of the tract, and was next to that part of the " Herring Farm" 
then owned by Samuel Jones, after whom " Great Jones Street " 
was named. Lafayette Place was opened in 1826, and Mary 
Waldron gave a lot to each of her two daughters, Maria, 
wife of William F. Higgins, and Cornelia Waldron. On 
these lots they built two houses exactly alike, and they were 
the first houses built on Lafayette Place and are still standing. 
They were built according to the ancient custom, when a wide 
dooryard was considered a necessary adjunct to houses " in 
the country." 

Lafayette Place, in a few years, became one of the most 
fashionable portions of the city, and the most aristocratic 
families became their near neighbors, but through all the 
various changes the Waldrons' houses remained the same. 
Cornelia Waldron and her sister were living as late as 1854, 
and the houses still remain in the occupation of their heirs. 
They are the only houses between the Bowery and Broadway 
that are occupied by families, the direct descendants of the 
builders, and whose ancestors owned the land fifty years 
before the Revolution ; but the very nature of their surround- 
ings, and the rapid changes that are taking place in this 
portion of the city, show that very soon they too will pass 
away. 




No. 4. The Site of Captain Kidd's House. 




THE vSITE OF CAPT. KIDD\5 HOUSE 




In the year 1688 there were almost as many 
buildings on the south side of Wall street as 
there are now, for every lot seems to have had 
a house on it, but on the north side there was 
not a single one. On the south side of the 
line of palisades or " city wall," was a narrow street called 
the " Cingle," which being widened is now called Wall street. 
All the land on the north side of the street was purchased by 
Governor Thomas Dongan, when there was no longer any 
need for the city wall. The fortifications were removed 
and Wall street opened as it is at present. On May 19, 1688, 
Governor Dongan sold to " George Browne, malster," a lot 
which is described as " being on ye northeast side of ye 
city, on ye north east side of ye street called ye Wall street." It 
was twenty-five feet wide and 112 feet long on the west side, 
and 111 feet on the east. This was a perpetual lease, the 
annual rent being " one pepper corne." This was the first 
house lot sold on the north side of Wall street, and on it 
George Browne built the first dwelling house. He did not 



'3 



EARLT NEW TORK HOU.SEJ 



keep it long, but on March 13, 1689, he sold it to William Cox, 
a wealthy merchant, for ^60. William Cox was drowned off 
Staten Island, in August, 1689, and left the house and lot to 
his wife Sarah, who afterwards married Capt. William Kidd. 
Here Capt. Kidd made his home till January 27, 1694, when he 
and his wife sold it to " John Watson, " butcher." Wall street 
property must have been " looking up," for they obtained for 
this house and lot the sum of ^130. After this it passed 
through many hands. John Watson left it to his step-children, 
who sold it to David Provost, in 1703. In 1785, it was bought 
by William Denning, a very prominent citizen, whose monu- 
ment may be seen in the northwest corner of St. Paul's Church 
yard. In 1828, it was sold to the " Traders' Insurance Com- 
pany," and they erected the building now standing, and of 
which a view is given. In 1836, it was sold to the " Commer- 
cial Insurance Company." At that time it was number 44 
Wall street., but the numbers having been changed, it is now 
No. 56, and is directly opposite Hanover street. In 1839, it 
was sold for $100,000, but in 1847, it was bought by Wm. S. 
Wetmore for $80,000, and it is now owned by his descendants. 
It is a very curious fact that of all the men who were 
living in New York at the close of the seventeenth century, 
the only one who has left a deep impression upon the popular 
mind was Capt. William Kidd. 



jfcgasMWfrSESs sKcr: 




14 



No. 5. Old Houses on York Street. 




\\YMO,\\\\\\\\\\\U\\\V\\\ 








OLD HOUiEi ON YORK STREET 




]ork street is a short street running west from 
West Broadway to St. John's lane, and is 
directly in the rear of St. John's Episcopal 
Church of which a view is given. This street 
is on the old "Lispenard Farm," and when 
it was first opened it was called Hubert street, and after- 
wards Hudson street, but as these names confounded it 
with two other streets with the same titles, it was changed 
to its present name. On September 1st, 1803, Anthony 
Lispenard sold to Samuel Jones, the entire block bounded 
north by Laight street, east by Chapel street, (now West 
Broadway), south by Hubert street, (now York), and west 
by St. John's lane, which was the boundary between the 
Lispenard farm and the land of Trinity Church, the price 
was $11,000. Samuel Jones divided it into lots and made a 
map of the same, on which the lots 1 to 9 were on the north 
side of York street. In 1823 Charles W. Sandford bought 
lots 3, 5, 6, 8 and on these and some of the lots adjoining 
were erected a row of small quaint looking houses of which 



•7 



EARLY NEW TORK HOUJEj 



two alone now remain. They were intended for a class of 
people who were able only to lease or purchase houses in the 
outskirts of the city. 

When St. John's Church was erected, it was considered 
too far remote, but upon the laying out of St. John's Park, 
the lots adjoining were soon purchased by wealthy and re- 
spectable families and it became an aristocratic neighborhood. 
This distinction, however, never extended to York street, and 
the row of small cheap houses remained as they were first 
erected till within a very few years. On the south side of the 
street, next to St. John's lane, is a small wooden building 
which was once used as a Baptist church, built by a small 
body of seceders from one of the earlier churches. At the 
present time, (fallen from its high estate), it is occupied by 
Italian rag pickers. The land on the south side of the street 
after many changes is now owned by the Lorillard family. 

The present year will doubtless see the last of the old 
houses in York street. 




18 



EARLY NEW YORK HOVSES 
WITH HISTORICAL 0^ GEN- 
EALOGICAL NOTES BY- 

WILLIAM S.PELLETREAV,A.M. 
PHOTOGRAPHS OFOLDHOVSES 
^ORIGINAL ILLVSTRATIONSBY 
C.G.MOLLER. JR. vvvv v v v v v v 




tr*f?m 



IN TEN PARTS 
PART II 



FRANCIS P.HARPER, PVBLIS HER 
NEW YORK.A.D.jQOO* vvvvvyi/i/Y 




EDITION 
5OO COPIES -^ 
. 2J JAPAN PAPER 



Copyrighted 1900 by 
Francis P. Harper 



No. 6. The Merchants' Exchange. 




THE MERCHANT!' EXCHANGE 




N the early days of New York, there stood at 
the foot of Broad street, a large building with 
its lower story entirely open to the weather. 
This was the "Exchange" of that day, and 
the street adjoining took the name of "Bx- 
change street." In 1824, a number of prominent merchants 
organized as the " Merchants Exchange Company." In 
1809, Thomas Buchanan, a wealthy merchant of his time, 
purchased from William Leffingwell, what was then Nos. 37- 
39 Wall street. He also bought of Daniel McCormick, No. 
41, and of David Van Home, a lot next east. The whole 
making a front on the south side of Wall street of 112 feet. 
The heirs of Thomas Buchanan sold these lots to the " Mer- 
chants' Exchange Company," June 1, 1824, and upon them 
they erected the building of which a view is given, and which 
was by far the most important business building in the city. 
The great fire of 1835 destroyed this elegant structure and the 
Company resolved to rebuild on a much larger scale, and in 
1836 they erected the building now so well known as the 



EARLY NEW TORK. HOUJEi 



United States Custom House. For this purpose they pur- 
chased all the lots and houses between the former Exchange 
and William street. Two of these houses are represented in 
the engraving. The one next to the Exchange belonged to 
the heirs of Jacobus Roosevelt, who purchased the lot (and 
also the one next east upon which a part of the Exchange 
stood), from Samuel Bayard, in 1735. It was sold by the 
heirs to the Exchange Company, in 1836. At that time the 
frame building was one of the oldest in Wall street. The 
house on the extreme right stood on a lot which, in the time 
of the Revolution, was owned by Thomas White, who, through 
his tory proclivities, came near losing his property by confisca- 
tion. His wife, Ann White, held the estate and her heirs sold 
it to the Fulton Fire Insurance Company, in 1828. They 
erected the building seen in the view, and it was sold by the 
Receiver of the Company to the Exchange Company, in 1836, 
for $40,100, which was doubtless a good price for Wall street 
property at that time. It was then No. 33, the lot being twenty- 
eight feet, two inches. In 1749, the lot was owned by Peter 
DeGrove, and its width was thirty feet, " Dutch wood meas- 
ure." In the rotunda of the old Exchange stood the statue 
of Alexander Hamilton. It was found impossible to rescue it 
and it was destroyed with the building. 



No. 7. Old Houses Corner Watts and Hudson Streets. 





OLD HOUvSEi COKNER. OF WATTES AND 
HUDSON 1TREETI 

HE land upon which these houses stand is a 
part of the Ljspenard Farm, and with many 
other lots in the vicinity, fell to the share of 
Sarah Stewart, wife of Alexander L. Stewart. 
On June 28, 1818, they leased to William 
Langham, a large lot, bounded west by Hudson street, and 
south by Watts, the west front being seventy-eight feet, and 
the south 114 feet. Upon this lot William Langham built 
nine two-story houses, which are still standing and are a good 
sample of the cheaper class of houses built at that time. On 
August 25, 1819, he sold the houses and lease (which was for 
twenty-one years, at an annual ground rent of $420), to 
Samuel Brown and Edward Junet, for $10,500, subject to a 
small mortgage. The cost of building these houses is sup- 
posed to have been about $900 each. The view represents 
them as they were standing July 24, 1893, but at the 
present time they remain unchanged. They are inhabited 
mostly by Italians, who carry on some small business in the 
lower rooms, while the upper stories are devoted to family 



*5 



EARLY NEW TOR.K. HOUIEJ 

living. In proportion to their cost they pay a larger rent than 
many far more fashionable residences. 

When these lots were laid out they were (contrary to a 
very common opinion), carefully restricted. It was stipulated 
in the deeds that no foundry, blacksmith shop, slaughter 
house, boiler factory, manufactory of glue, or any other busi- 
ness that would be noxious or offensive to the neighbors or 
community should be erected or suffered to exist on the prem- 
ises. These restrictions were, of course, intended to attract a 
very desirable class of tenants and purchasers. The change 
of population has been so marked, that it is quite certain, that 
if all these nuisances were in full blast, they would not disturb 
the present residents of the neighborhood of Watts and Hud- 
son streets. 




26 



No. 8, Baptist Church, Fayette Street, 1808. 




BAPTIST CHURCH ON FAYETTE STREET, 1606 



JHE denomination of Baptists first established 
that doctrine in New York about 1709. With 
the exception of their characteristic mode 
of baptism, there seems to have been very 
little similarity of doctrine to those of the 



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IB 


We 


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352 





present Baptist church, and they were, in fact, Arminians. 
The new sect flourished for a few years and built a small 
meeting house on "Golden Hill." This building, the first 
Baptist church in New York, stood on the west side of Cliff 
street, ninety feet north of John street, which, in early times, 
was called Van Cliff street. This church was occupied till 
1731, when the society was dissolved, and the building was 
sold by one of the Trustees as his own property. It is said to 
have been standing as late as 1794. 

The society, under other preachers, revived about 1745. 
On February 10, 1759, " Nathaniel Sloo, mariner," sold to 
"John Carman, cartman ; Samuel Edmonds, brick layer; 
and Samuel Dodge, house carpenter," as " trustees and over- 
seers of the Baptist Protestant Dissenters," a lot on the west 



29 



EARLT NEW TORK HOUiEi 



side of Gold street, a little south of Fulton street, and directly 
opposite Kden's Alley, upon this lot was erected the second 
Baptist meeting house. The society was incorporated as the 
First Baptist Church, in 1789. A branch of the society was 
organized as the "Second Baptist Church," and on June 80, 
1799, Henry Rutgers sold to them two lots on the ancient farm 
of Hendrich Rutgers, and bounded west by " Fayette street." 
This street has long since disappeared from the city map. In 
1819, when Oliver street was extended from Bancker street 
(now Madison), to Chatham square, the old Fayette street was 
closed and sold to adjoining owners. The present Mariners' 
Temple, on Oliver street, stands on the old Fayette street. 
Upon the lots above mentioned, was built the third Baptist 
Church, more generally known as the Oliver Street Baptist 
Church, the most famous and prosperous church of the denom- 
ination in the city. The first edifice, of which a view is given, 
was a small wooden building in a style of the most primitive 
simplicity. This building remained until 1819, when it was 
destroyed, and a much larger and more elegant church, built 
of stone, was erected in its place. 

In the earliest days of New York there was a wind mill 
that stood very near the site of that church, and is mentioned 
several times in ancient deeds. It was owned by Nicholas De 
Meyer. Opposite that was the Jews burying ground, a small 
portion of which still remains, fronting the " New Bowery." 
Fayette street was its eastern boundary. 

This vicinity, though somewhat thickly inhabited, was 
never a fashionable neighborhood, and the style of buildings 
was distinguished for cheapness, and want of durability. 



3° 



No. 9. " Night before Christmas House." 




THE HOUJE IN WHICH "THE NIOHT BEFORE 
CHRIJTMAI" WAJ WRITTEN 




o poem ever written by an American, has been 
so universally read and admired, as "The 
visit of St. Nicholas." Its honored author 
Clement C. Moore, LL,.D., was the only child 
of Right Reverend Benjamin Moore, Bishop 
of New York. In the early part of this century there was 
standing on the banks of the Hudson river where Ninth 
avenue and Twenty-third street now are, a beautiful mansion 
with most picturesque surroundings. This had been the home 
of Major Thomas Clarke, a retired officer of the British army, 
who built an elegant residence and called it " Chelsea," his 
house was burned about the time of the revolution and its 
owner who died soon after, was with difficulty rescued from the 
flames, the mansion was soon rebuilt by his widow. They were 
the parents of Charity Clarke, who married Bishop Moore, and 
in this elegant mansion on July 15, 1781, was born the famous 
author of " The Night Before Christmas." The author was 
not only a poet, but a learned student of ancient languages. 
He was a graduate of Columbia College and blessed with all 



33 



EARLY NEW TORK. HOUiEi 

the advantages that wealth and an honored lineage could 
bestow. He wrote the the first Hebrew Lexicon ever pub- 
lished in America, and did much to render the study of that 
language easier to the student of the Holy Scriptures. In 
1818, Dr. Moore presented to the Bpiscopal Theological 
Seminary, the entire block of ground bounded by Ninth 
avenue, twentieth and twenty-first streets and the Hudson 
river, and upon this the splendid Seminary buildings are 
erected. 

" The Night Before Christmas " was written by Dr. Moore, 
in 1822, and intended for a Christmas gift to his children. 
They were copied by a young lady who was visiting the fam- 
ily, and upon her return to her home in the city of Troy, she 
sent it to an editor and it was printed for the first time in the 
"Troy Sentinel," December 23, 1823. A little picture was 
attached showing St. Nicholas and his sled and "tiny rein- 
deer," a spectacle ever dear to the minds of children. It 
attracted immediate attention and has ever since been famous. 

The mansion, of which a view is given, stood between 
Twenty-second and Twenty-third streets, about two hundred 
feet west of Ninth avenue. It stood on a high bank that over- 
looked the river. The rapid advance of the great city soon 
made it undesirable as a place of residence, and in 1850, the 
venerable mansion was destroyed, and the hill, leveled to its 
base, has gone to fill up the water lots on the avenues far 
beyond. There is an added interest given to this view from 
the fact that it is from a sketch made by Clement C. Moore, a 
grandson of the famous author. The view is from the south- 
west. 

34 



No. 10. Franklin Square in 1856. 





FRANKLIN SQUARE, IN 1656 

n the last century, the space at the junction 
of Pearl and Cherry streets was known as 
"St. George's Square." It was an aristocratic 
part of the city, and here were the houses of 
very prominent citizens — the famous " Walton 
House" being one of them. On March 17, 1817, the Board 
of Aldermen resolved, "That the square now called St. 
George's square, at the intersection of Cherry street, be 
hereafter named and called Franklin square, as a testimony 
of the high respect entertained by the Board for the literary 
and philanthropical character of the late Doctor Benjamin 
Franklin." Pearl street, north of this square, was, in ancient 
times, known as " the road that leads from Queen street 
towards the Fresh Water." The junction of Pearl and 
Cherry streets was originally a point opposite Dover street. 
There were two or three small buildings upon it, and at the 
apex was a fire engine house. These buildings were bought 
by the city in 1819, and torn down and the square opened as 
it now is. 



37 



EARLY NEW YORK HOU.SE.S 

At what is now the junction of the two streets was a large 
lot, which in 1762 was sold by the heirs of Robert Benson 
to Walter Franklin, a wealthy merchant in the revolutionary 
days. Upon this lot he erected a large mansion, one of the 
most elegant in the city, and was at one time the residence of 
General Washington when president. After the death of 
Walter Franklin, this house and the land adjoining fell to his 
daughter Hannah, who married George Clinton, a younger 
brother of Governor De Witt Clinton. When Franklin 
Square was opened, the lots taken left this mansion fronting 
both on Cherry street and on the square. The large house on 
the right, in the view, was the original house of Walter Frank- 
lin, whose widow married Samuel Osgood, and they resided 
there for many years. In 1816 it was the temporary residence 
of De Witt Clinton. The large house on the left was built by 
Hannah Clinton, and there she and her husband resided. 
After the death of Hannah Clinton the two houses owned by her 
heirs remained unchanged till 1856, when they were taken 
down and replaced by stores. To build these stores they bor- 
rowed a large sum of money of Robert R. Morris, giving a 
mortgage as security. The operation was not profitable. 
They were sold as foreclosure to the mortgagee, January 29, 
1862. The greater part of the property remained in his 
hands till the time of the building of the Brooklyn Bridge, 
when the whole was sold to the Bridge Commissioners. The 
stores were cut down to one story in height, as they now 
remain. It is needless to state that the tablet on one of the 
abutments of the bridge, stating that on that site stood the 
house in which Washington resided, is entirely out of place. 

3» 



E.AR.LT NEW TOR.K. HOIUE.S 

In numbering Cherry street the odd numbers were originally 
on the north side, but about 1836 the street was renumbered 
and the odd numbers are now on the south side. An ignorance 
of this fact may have been the cause of the tablet being placed 
in its erroneous position. Where the abutment of the bridge 
now stands was originally some small buildings owned in the 
early part of the century by Samuel Osgood. At the time the 
Franklin mansion was occupied by General Washington — 
it was No. 3 Cherry street. The widow of Walter Franklin 
married Samuel Osgood, a very prominent and influential 
citizen. 




39 



EARLY NEW YORK HOVSES 
WITH HISTORICAL ^ GEN- 
EALOGICAL NOTES BY- — - 
WILLIAM S.PELLETREAV.AM. 
PHOTOGRAPHS OF OLD HOVSES 
^-ORIGINAL ILLVSTRATIONSBY 
C.G.MOLLER. JR. v * v v v v y y y y 




IN TEN PARTS 
PART III 



FRANCIS P.HARPER, PVBLIS HER 
NEW YORK,A.D.jQOO^ vyvyvyyvv 




EDITION 
300 COPIES^ 
2J JAPAN PAPER 



Copyrighted 1900 by 
Francis P. Harper 



No. n. First Tammany Hall. 




THE FIRST TAMMANY HALL 

(HE land on the south side of Frankfort street on 
which the " Sun " building now stands, is a 
part of the farm owned in early days by the 
famous and ill-fated Jacob Leisler, whose 
career is one of the most important episodes 
in the history of this city. Condemned by the machinations 
of his enemies, he, with his son-in-law, Millbourne, was exe- 
cuted, and their remains buried on this very site, but were 
afterward removed and re-buried with great celebration in the 
old Dutch church yard on "Garden street," now Exchange 
place. The lot above mentioned is lot No. 1 and 2 of the 
Leisler land and in the division among his heirs it fell to the 
share of his son Jacob Leisler. In the early part of this cen- 
tury lot No. 1 was owned by Isaac Jones, who on May 4, 
1810, sold it with a small house thereon standing, to the 
" Society of Tammany or Columbian Order," the price was 
$10,050. The lot next east (No. 2), was sold to the same 
organization by Jacob Tyler, June 19, 1810, for $3,950, both 



43 



E.ARLT NEW TOR.K. HOUiEj 



forming a lot of fifty-seven feet West on Chatham street, (now 
Park Row), and the same on Frankfort street. 

Upon these lots was erected the building so famous in its 
day as " Tammany Hall." Of the political organization of 
which this was the rallying place, it is needless to speak, the 
organization is still in existence and bids fair to continue for 
a long time to come. The building of which a view is given, 
remained till 1867, and on April 30, of that year it was sold to 
the " Evening Telegraph Association " for $150,000, and a new 
Tammany Hall was built on Fourteenth street. The house 
seen in the view next south of Tammany Hall,was the residence 
of John McNiel, a well-known citizen of that time. The queer 
shaped building on the north side of Frankfort street, at the 
extreme back ground was the German Lutheran Church, on 
the northeast corner of Frankfort and William streets. It was 
popularly known as the " Swamp Church." Directly opposite 
the hall on the east site of Frankfort street, was a wide lot 
with a few small buildings, this was owned by Casper Samler 
in 1794, who left it to a daughter who married John N. 
Grenzebach. Her heirs sold it to John Simpson, the "King of 
Pawn Brokers," In 1847, he built a hotel for Col. Richard 
French, who afterwards owned it, and as " French's Hotel " it 
was very famous for many years. It was sold by Thomas 
French, and wife Helen A. French, to Joseph Pulitzer, April 
9, 1888, and on the site now stands the imposing building of 
the " New York World," one of the greatest newspapers in 
the United States. The original gathering place of the 
Tammany Society was at a tavern on the corner of Nassau 
and Spruce streets, and called " Martling's " from its owner. 

44 



EARLT NEW TOR.K. HOUJE.J 



The Tribune office now stands on its site which is the north- 
west corner of the old Beekman Farm. 




THE FIRST WlgWAM.CORNEk'OF NASSAtf AND SPRUCE STREETS, in* 



45 



No. 12. House No. 23 Bond Street. 




^ri^g-EEEg 


'S 


3L' 1 ""l >?V%^J^/ 


EH 





HOUiEi ON BOND STREET 

JHERE were two houses on Bond street, one is 
still standing which are of interest, one as 
a token of sentimentality that outlasts the 
grave; and the other as the scene of one of 
the most terrible tragedies that ever shocked 
humanity. The house No. 31 Bond street, was in 1857 the 
home of Dr. Harvey Burdell, a dentist, who was born in 1811, 
near Herkimer, N. Y. He was a man of strange disposition, 
quarrelsome and penurious and had acquired a fortune by 
his professional skill. His family consisted of Mrs. Emma 
Augusta Cunningham, who acted as housekeeper, and an 
Irish servant. There were also a few lodgers, one of them 
John I. Eckel, another was Daniel Ullman, who was candidate 
for Governor on the "Know Nothing" ticket. On the morn- 
ing of January 30th, the doctor was found murdered in his 
room, there were signs of a terrific struggle, and fifteen stab 
wounds were found on the body, his gold watch and pocket 
book were found on the body and this was considered evidence 
that robbery was not the motive. Mrs. Cunningham and 



49 



E.AR.LT NEW TORK. HOUjEj 



Eckel were arrested and the former brought to trial, but was 
acquitted by the jury, Eckel was next tried and also acquitted. 
Mrs. Cunningham then appeared as a claimant to the estate, 
pretending to be the widow of the murdered man. Her attempt 
to palm off a bogus heir to the property was exposed, she 
confessed and the prosecution was dropped. She afterwards 
went to California, but returned to New York, and died in 
Harlem, September 13, 1887, under the name of Emma 
Augusta Williams. She was buried in Greenwood. 

Eckel was in later years convicted of crime and died in 
the Albany Penitentiary. Shortly before his death he was 
asked if he knew anything of the murder, he said that all he 
knew was that when going up the stairs that night he met 
Mrs. Cunningham coming down. No murder in New York 
ever created more excitement, or is more thoroughly wrapped 
in mystery. 

The house No. 23 Bond street, has a far different history. 
Fifty years ago it was the residence of Henry Ward, a member 
of a well-known family. He died many years ago and it 
descended to his son Henry Hall Ward. Between this young 
man and his cousin Miss Eliza Ann Partridge, there existed 
the strongest love and affection, but for some reason they 
never married, some say on account of their close relationship. 
Henry Hall Ward died in Saratoga in 1872, leaving his 
property to executors in trust for Miss Partridge, there were 
many surmizes as to what she would do with the house which 
was valuable, and the property could be made to yield a large 
income, but Miss Partridge acted with promptness. There 
were two old servants in the house, and to them she gave strict 



5° 



EVARLT NEW TORK HOU3E,j 

orders that nothing above the basement should be disturbed 
in the slightest manner, but that everything should remain 
just as her lover left it. Since then, years have passed, but 
the house in Bond street remains as it was. The windows are 
never opened and no mortal enters the long closed doors, 
everything has a deserted and decaying look, and even the 
large door plate has grown so tarnished that it is with difficulty 
that one can read the name of its old time owner, Henry Ward. 
Doubtless while she lives it will remain the same and only at 
her death will the gloomy portals be opened. 




PR. KMBPEILIL'S RKHMEHICE 
AI M (B©N©3EPf01V'©EMOLISH£B; 



Si 



No. 13. The Homestead of Casper Samler. 




THE HOMEJTEAD OF CAJPER JAMLER 




N the latter part of tlie last century there 
was living in New York a farmer of Dutch 
ancestry named Casper Samler, who, by a 
fortunate purchase of land, laid the founda- 
tion of wealth for his descendants. On March 
27, 1780, he purchased from Dr. Samuel Nicoll and others, 
"a farm or plantation, and messuage or dwelling house, 
lying and being at the third mile stone, bounded west by 
the Bloomingdale road, south and east partly by the road to 
Kingsbridge and partly by the Commons of the city." This 
embraced thirty-seven acres, and for it he paid the magnifi- 
cent sum of ^2,250, or $5,625. The land included in this 
tract extends along Broadway from near the south line of 
Madison Square to Forty-fifth street. The south part of this 
farm, at the junction of the two roads, was in after years the 
Potter's Field. Casper Samler died in 1810, leaving wife 
Susannah and children — Susannah, wife of Wm. Coulthard, 
Elizabeth, wife of Matthew Galilee, and Barbaric He also 
had a son John, who died before his father, leaving children. 

55 



EARLY NEW TOR.K HOUJEi 



To these, and a step-daughter, Margaret, wife of John W. 
Greentzbach, he left the farm and other property. The farm 
was divided into lots, and lot 2, which included the homestead, 
fell to the share of Elizabeth Galilee. After the decease of 
Mr. Galilee, she married James W. Anderson in 1815. Mat- 
thew Galilee left a daughter Ann, who married George Greer, 
a member of a noted firm of sugar refiners, who built the 
house No. 7 West Twenty-ninth street, which is seen in the 
engraving. This house was occupied for several years by the 
Bar Association, and was torn down in 1898. Mr. Greer's 
daughter Julia, is the wife of J. Edward Simmons, Esq., 
President of the Fourth National Bank. By her second mar- 
riage Mrs. Galilee had a son, James Anderson. The old 
house stood till 1870, when the land surrounding it was leased 
to Peter Gilsey, who built the noted hotel known as the Gilsey 
House, which stands upon the site of the old mansion, on the 
northeast corner of Broadway and Twenty-ninth street. 

Among other property of Casper Samler was the lot on 
which the " World Building " now stands. This lot he 
bought of Cornelius Ring and others, September 22, 1794, 
and is described as bounded north by Chatham street, west by 
Frankfort street, and east by Blaize Morse. The lot was 32 
feet front and 56 feet deep, and is mentioned as " nearly 
opposite the new goal," now the Register's Office of New 
York. For this lot he paid X720, or $1,800, and there was a 
building on it at the time. 



56 



No. 14. The " Tank " of the Manhattan Water Company. 





THE TANK S OF THE MANHATTAN WATER. 

COMPANY 

In the days of old when Aaron Burr was a power 
in New York, both politically and legally, 
when all the water for city use was derived 
from wells and when people were willing to 
pay to have water brought to them from the 
" Tea Water Pump," in those days a company was started to 
supply the city with pure and wholesome water. A charter 
was obtained from the Legislature April 2, 1799. The far- 
sighted, long headed Burr, had another scheme which was 
hidden behind this innocent project for supplying " pure 
and wholesome water." He and his followers were very 
anxious to have a bank, but it was useless to petition the 
Legislature for that. The crafty Burr, tacked on to his charter 
a proviso that any surplus money of the company might be 
invested in any way not contrary to law. The company dug 
wells, laid long lines of wooden pipes under the streets and 
erected an immense tank for holding the water. The recent 
destruction of buildings for the new Register's office, brought 



59 



EARLY NEW YORK. HOU3EV.S 

the old tank to the light of day. It was built of iron, strongly 
hooped and surrounded with a brick wall. It answered a very 
useful purpose in its day, and lasted till the time when Croton 
water came to the city in a flood. In accordance with Burr's 
hidden scheme, the surplus money was used to establish the 
Manhattan Bank, which has ever since been a flourishing 
institution and in this institution survives the old water 
company though its original object and purpose has ceased 
to exist. 




60 



No. 15. Residence of General Winfield Scott. 




RESIDENCE OF GENERAL WINFIELD SCOTT 



it""*W**5Hj* , WW ^ 




JHE renowned conqueror of Mexico, was for the 
latter part of his eventful life a resident of 
New York. On April 10, 1853, Charles 
Partridge and his wife Sophronia, sold to 
Winfield Scott, " A General in the Army of 
the United States," the house and lot No. 24 West 12th street, 
two hundred and seventy-six feet west of Fifth avenue. The 
price was $26,000. The house adjoining, No. 22, of which a 
view is given, was built by Wm. S. Pickett,a well-known citizen, 
about the same time. The house of General Scott, covered 
with vines presented a very elegant appearance, and here the 
famous warrior entertained the most famous men of the nation. 
His quiet residence here was interupted by the outbreak of the 
civil war, during which his time was mostly spent in 
Washington. At the time of his death he was residing at 
Cranston's, West Point, and his honored remains rest in the 
national cemetery and a massive monument of the ancient 
Roman style marks the spot. After his decease an auction 
was made at his city residence and many interesting relics 



e 3 



EARLY NEW TORK. HOUSE* 



found a sale. The place soon after passed into other hands, 
but so long as it remains it will be a most interesting land 
mark as the residence of a man who enlarged his country's 
boundaries, and has left an immortal fame. 




6 4 



EARLY NEW YORK HOVSES 
WITH HISTORICAL 0^ GEN- 
EALOGICAL NOTES BY^~~ 
WILLIAM S.PELLETREAV.A.M. 
PHOTOGRAPHS OFOLDHOVSES 
^ORIGINAL ILLVSTRATIONSBY 
C.G.MOLLER. ]R. v * * v v v v v v v 







IN TEN PARTS 
PART IV 



FRANCIS P.HARPER, PVBLIS HER 
NEW YORK, A.D.JC) 00* * sryvyyjryy 




EDITION 
300 COPIES^ 
P5> 25 JAPAN PAPER 



Copyrighted 1900 by 
Francis P. Harper 



No. 16. Last Dwelling on Broadway. Goelet Mansion. 




THE LAiT DWELLING HOUIB ON BROADWAY 
THE OOELET MANSION 




|n the middle of the last century there lived in 
the " Out Ward," which then meant almost 
everything north of Chambers street, a Dutch 
farmer named Cornelius Tiebout. His farm 
was bounded on the west by the Bowery lane, 
which ran diagonally across what is now Union Square. It 
extended north nearly to Twentieth street, and east almost to 
Irving place. From there it ran in a straight line to a point 
on Sixteenth street near Third avenue, and thence to what is 
now Fourth avenue and Fourteenth street. On this tract he 
had a small farmhouse — which stood where the Clarendon 
Hotel now stands — and here he lived till the time of his death. 
When a man made his will in those days he was especially 
anxious to preclude any possibility of his property being 
enjoyed by his widow's second husband, should she have any. 
But Cornelius Tiebout was of a different nature, and left to 
his wife his farm " for life, and if at any time hereafter she 
should have issue, then to her and her heirs and assigns 

6 7 



EARLT NEW YORK HOUSE! 



forever." If she left no issue, then the farm was to go to 
John Kortright. Under these circumstances John Kortright 
might be said to be a young man of " Great Expectations," 
but these were suddenly blasted when an Englishman, named 
Edward Williams, made his appearance, and wooed the hand- 
some widow. They were married, and in due time a son was 
born, and in gratitude to the man who had made her rich she 
called the boy Cornelius Tiebout Williams. Now, while this 
boy was growing to manhood, the city was growing also. 
Streets and avenues were laid out. When Union Square was 
opened the greatest part of it was taken from his land, and the 
commissioners assessed the benefit as being $4,059 more than 
the damage, so he not only lost the land, but had to pay that 
amount in addition. About 1830 Cornelius T. Williams built 
on the northeast corner of Nineteenth street and Broadway, 
the mansion which was destined to be the last dwelling house 
on that thoroughfare. He did not enjoy it long, but died a 
comparatively young man in 1835. In the division of the 
property, the family mansion and several lots adjoining fell 
to the share of one of the daughters, Julia C, wife of Dr. Wm. 
Miner, and they sold it to Peter Goelet January 1, 1844. The 
whole made a front of 96 feet on Broadway, and 168 feet on 
Nineteenth street. It brought what would now be considered 
the insignificant sum of $22,500. For the many years during 
which Mr. Goelet made it his home, the house, with its ample 
grounds, was a veritable rus in urbe ; the sight of poultry and 
domestic animals gave it the appearance of a country home in 
a crowded city. Mr. Goelet had a sister Hannah, who married 
Thomas R. Gerry, and was the mother of Commodore Elbridge 



68 



EARLY NEW YORK. HOUiF.i 

T. Gerry, famous as a philanthropist. The house and ground 
were left to her, and nothing could induce her to leave the 
ancient home. Upon her decease in 1896, the march of im- 
provement was left free to pursue its course, and the mansion 
was torn down to make room for a much greater building 
devoted to trade. 




6 9 



No. 17. Old Houses on Cornelia Street. 




OLD HOUIEi ON CORNELIA STREET 

ORNELIA STREET, which was laid out in 1794, 
was on the line between the lots on the " Her- 
ring Farm," which fell to Sarah, wife of Dr. 
Gardiner Jones, and Cornelia, wife of Samuel 
Jones. 

On October 5, 1819, Dr. Gardiner Jones sold to Charles 
Oakley, " merchant," twenty lots for $8,000. These lots were 
bounded west by Herring street (now Bleecker), north by Jones 
street, and south by Cornelia street, the tract being 250 feet 
wide. On this he made some improvements, but the whole 
was sold on foreclosure to the East River Mutual Insurance 
Company in 1842. They sold it to David Bebell, a builder, 
April 25, 1843. He built several houses of a very cheap 
grade, of which three still remain, and a view of two of them 
is here given. These were formerly Nos. 27 and 29 Cornelia 
street, on the north side, and about 124 feet east of Bleecker. 
They are at present Nos. 29, 29^. The price stated was 
$3,300. though it hardly seems that this could have been worth 
so much. The monstrous chimnies, which seem out of all 



73 



EARLT NEW YORK HOU.SEJ 

proportion to the houses, are reminders of the time when wood 
was used almost exclusively for fuel, and the huge fire places 
in which it was consumed still remain. These houses are 
probably a fair sample of the cheapest kind of dwellings in 
Old New York. Concerning Jones street, a curious story is 
told. Dr. Gardiner Johnes was a native of Southampton, Long 
Island. After his marriage to Sarah Herring he changed his 
name to Jones. Between this family and that of Samuel Jones, 
who married Cornelia Herring, there was no relationship, but 
much jealousy. When Gardiner Jones laid out Jones street 
in 1794, and called it after his name, the other family took 
umbrage and forthwith laid out another street, on their part of 
the farm and extending from Broadway to Bowery, and also 
called it "Jones street." These streets of the same name 
made some confusion, and not to be out-done, the latter was 
given the name of " Great Jones street," which it still retains. 
This part of the city was never fashionable nor inhabited by 
families of wealth and respectability. As lots were sold cheap 
they were bought by a cheap class of people and small and 
squalid houses were erected of which the ones depicted are a 
fair example. 



74 



No. 1 8. The Last of Le Roy Place. 




■ 



■H 



- " ■■■•♦--- " - •: 
* ii 





THE, LAiT OF LE ROY PLACE 

N the year 1827, Isaac G. Pearson, a wealthy 
merchant and builder, purchased all the lots 
on both sides of Bleecker street, between 
Mercer and Greene streets, the lots at that 
time being worth from $400, to $600, each. 
Upon both sides of the street he erected rows of dwelling 
houses, which were considered extremely elegant and he named 
it Le Roy place, in honor of Jacob L,e Roy, a very prominent 
citizen. The houses were intended as residences for a wealthy 
and fashionable class of people, and it was stipulated that each 
house was to have in front of it a yard ten feet wide. These 
intentions were fully realized, and for many years Bleecker 
street was one of the most fashionable parts of the city. Of 
these houses only two now remain, the encroachments of trade 
and business having swept the rest away. The house No. 15 
L,e Roy place, of which a view is given, was bounded south by 
Bleecker street and west by Greene street. It was sold by the 
builder to Joseph C. Yates, in 1829 for $12,500, Ann K. Yates 
his wife was the daughter of John De L,ancey. They had two 



77 



EARLY NEW TOR.K HOUIE5 



daughters Ann Allida, and Jane Josepha, the latter married 
Samuel McNeil, and Joseph C. Yates and wife conveyed to her 
the house and lot at the above valuation, as a part of a legacy 
of $20,000 left to her by her grand-father John De Lancey. 

The house No. 13, of which a view is also given, was sold 
to Benjamin Stephens for $11,250. He was the father of John 
L. Stephens, the famous traveler and antiquarian. These 
houses are now Nos. 103-105 Bleecker street. The signs on 
these houses are sufficient to show that they are no longer 
fashionable residences and in all probability they will soon 
make room for buildings of a very different class, as has been 
the fate of all the rest of the mansions on L,e Roy Place. 

It is a curious fact that this part of the city retained its 
elegance and was desirable as a place of residence for some 
years after it became a test of gentility to " live above Bleecker," 
and as late as 1835, Prince street was almost the border of 
civilization. Walker street was the dwelling place of many 
wealthy and aristocratic families and it is sad to see mansions 
once famed for elegaut hospitality, now inhabited by foreigners 
of the lowest grade. 




78 



No. 19. Northeast Corner of Fifth Avenue and i6th Street. 





NORTHEAST CORNER. OF FIFTH AVENUE AND 
.SIXTEENTH STREET 

|he land on Fifth avenue, between Sixteenth and 
Seventeenth streets, is a part of the large tract 
owned by Thomas Burling, in the latter part 
of the last century. A large part of it was in 
after years owned by John Cowman. Fifth 
avenue was opened through this tract in 1836. The land of 
John Cowman was divided into lots, the front between Six- 
teenth and Seventeenth streets being lots 1 to 7, inclusive. 
Lots 1, 2 and 3 were sold by the executors of the estate of 
John Cowman, to Gardiner G. Howland, in 1836, the corner 
lot 26 feet 4 inches in width, brought the sum of $8,600, the 
other two lots were sold for $8,100 each, and were of the same 
width. On November 14, 1849, Gardiner G. Howland sold to 
Wm. A. Spencer, " lately in the naval service of the United 
States," a lot fronting forty-nine feet, front on Fifth avenue, 
and one hundred and forty-one feet on Sixteenth street, the 
price being $21,500. Captain Spencer was the son of Ambrose 
Spencer, one of the most prominent lawyers of his day and 
member of a family famous in the annals of New York. He 



8i 



EAR.LY NEW TOR.K HOU.SE.S 



married Elenora, daughter of Peter Lorillard, and after her 
decease he was married to her sister Catharine. Upon the lot 
thns purchased, Captain Spencer erected a mansion which for 
size and elegance surpassed anything on Fifth avenue at that 
time. An extensive conservatory in the rear, was in itself a 
thing of beauty, while the entire mansion was finished and 
furnished in a style commensurate with the wealth and social 
position of its occupants, and in the days when the avenue was 
a street of palaces where trade had never set its foot, the 
" Spencer mansion " was foremost among its equals. After the 
death of Captain Spencer, it descended to his son Lorillard 
Spencer, who married Miss Sarah Johnson Griswold, and the 
place was one of the centers of social life. Mr. Spencer died 
in 1888, his son Lorillard Spencer, is well known to the 
literary and social world. 

The lot next to the Spencer mansion was sold by the 
executors of Gardiner G. Howland, to Edwin Penfold and 
Thomas H. Faile, September 18, 1852, for $10,000. This lot 
was twenty-nine feet ten inches wide and upon it they erected 
the house No. 87 Fifth avenue. They were both bachelors 
and both wealthy, and here they made their homes during the 
remainder of their lives, living in a style of most elegant 
leisure, and evidently studying their own enjoyment more 
than anything else. After their death the mansion was sold 
in a partition suit to Dr. Robert G. Remsen, for $89,000, and 
is still owned by his heirs, though deserted by them, and the 
words " For Sale " tell the story of its speedy destruction. 

Lot No. 4, (now 89 Fifth avenue), was sold by the estate 
of John Cowman, to Augustus T. Cowman, April 21, 1836, for 



82 



EARLY NEW YORK HOltfEJ 

$8,700. In 1849, it was sold to Henry Heyward, who sold it 
to Edwin Snyder, " merchant," February 8, 1850, and he built 
the house now standing and sold it to James McCall, in 1854, 
for $29,000. He sold to Anna D. Cheever, wife of John H. 
Cheever, in 1859, for $30,000, and it has been in that family 
till recent years. 




»3 



No. 20. No. 25 Lafayette Place. 



-vl 




NO. 25 LAFAYETTE PLACE 



Ppl 


§^°jf?sfi| 




mi 


T 


t^M*Sj 




agC 


<f§M 



HE marcli of improvement, or destruction, as one 
may look upon it, has left very little of Lafay- 
ette place as it was in the days of its social 
elegance, and the house No. 25, which still 
remains, is worthy of more than a passing 
notice. The land upon which it stands is a part of the 
" Herring Farm," so well known to the searchers of titles to real 
estate. A portion of this, fronting on Broadway and including 
Lafayette place, which was opened in 1826, was purchased by 
Anthony L. Bleecker, and divided into lots, several of which 
were sold to William Van Hook. It soon became evident 
that the new street, named after the illustrious Frenchman 
whose name must ever be dear to the hearts of all true Ameri- 
cans, would soon become one of the most elegant portions of 
the city. On May 17, 1839, William Van Hook sold to David 
Thompson and Benjamin L. Swan two lots each forty-five feet 
front and one hundred and thirty-seven in depth, the price of 
each lot being $16,000. Upon these lots they erected elegant 
mansions, an alley of ten feet wide being left between them 



87 



EAR.LT NEW YOR.K HOUjES 



for mutual convenience. The house built by Mr. Swan was 
torn down several years since and the See House of the 
Episcopal church stands in its place. It was one of the char- 
acteristics of Mr. Swan to be more studiously polite than the 
person he was with, and he would sometimes be seen hat in hand 
talking to a beggar, for he would never be outdone in civility. 
David Thompson, who built No. 25, was the son of 
Jonathan Thompson, at one time Collector of the Port of New 
York. His wife was the daughter of John Lyon Gardiner, the 
seventh Lord of the Manor of Gardiner's Island. Of Jonathan 
Thompson, it may be said that during his whole life he was a 
power, not only in the financial, but in the political and social 
world, being the intimate acquaintance of five presidents of 
the United States, and holding the highest position among the 
old and historic families of the state. David Thompson was 
president of the Bank of Commerce, and held a high official 
position in the New York Life Insurance and Trust Company, 
and other financial institutions. He married Sarah Diodati 
Gardiner, daughter of John Lyon Gardiner, the seventh Lord 
of the Manor. She was a beautiful lady of the old school and 
the mansion in Lafayette place was the center of social life. 
The house being furnished in the style of substantial luxury 
so peculiar to those times. The country seat of the family was 
the Manor of Sagtikos, an estate of eight miles in length, at 
Islip, Long Island, and is now the property of his son Hon. 
Frederick Diodati Thompson, well known to the social and 
literary world, an extensive traveler, and the recipient of high 
honors from the Sultan of Turkey, as a recognition of very 
valuable services rendered. 



88 



E.AR.LT NEW YORK HOUjEj 



The house No. 23, also shown in the engraving, was 
built by David Thompson and Gabriel Mead, and sold to 
William Chauncey, an old time merchant, and for some years 
treasurer of the New York Historical Society. He left a 
daughter who married Gen. Chauncey McKeever, of the U. S. 
Army. 




'**s 



8 9 



EARLY NEW YORK HOVSES 
WITH HISTORICAL 0^ GEN- 
EALOGICAL NOTES BY—^ 
WILLIAM S.PELLETREAV,A.M. 
PHOTOGRAPHS OFOLDHOVSES 
^ORIGINAL ILLVSTRATIONSBY 
C.G.MOLLER. ]R. v * * y v v v v v v 




.^^^p^SStl*^ 






IN TEN PARTS 
PART V 



FRANCIS P.HARPER, PVBLISHER 
NEW YORK,A.D.jQOO^ vy y v v y y y y 




EDITION 
JOO COPIES^ 
2j JAPAN PAPER 



Copyrighted 1900 by 
Francis P. Harper 



, 



No. 21. The Golden Eagle Inn. 



•— /— 





THE: GOLDEN EAGLE INN 




his Inn, famous in earlier days, stood on what was 
originally lot 9, of the Herring Farm. The lot 
was purchased by Cornelius C. Rosevelt, who 
sold it to several persons. It was sub-divided 
into smaller lots, and of these lot 17 fell to the 
share of Magdalena Beekman, she gave it "for love and affec- 
tion " to Gerard Wm. Livingston, a near relative. In 1826, 
Amity street, (now West 3rd street), was opened and this was 
a corner lot bounded west by Mercer street, and north by 
Amity (West 3rd street). In 1834, Richard J. Wells, 
" Counselor at Law," bought the lot and built the Inn, of 
which a view is given. He sold the whole to John H. Coutant, 
" gentleman," in 1840, for $13,000. He was at one time the 
proprietor of the " Vauxhall Garden," a place of entertainment 
near where the Astor library now stands. He left the Inn to 
his son Charles Coutant, who sold it for business purposes 
and the famous hostelry was torn down in May, 1893. It was 
the last frame building in what is called the "wholesale 
district." It was first used as a dwelling house and afterwards 

93 



E.ARLT NEW YORK. HOUJEJ 

as a school. It was then leased by John I. Warden, a well- 
known character, who turned it into a saloon and gave it the 
name of the " Golden Bagle." In the days of its glory it was 
a favorite resort of Gen. Winfield Scott, Edwin Booth, John 
Wallack, and a host of men whose names are famous. The 
place at one time contained quite a collection of paintings and 
curios, and a conspicuous feature was an immense copper bowl 
filled with tobacco, which was free to all customers. Over the 
bar was a conspicuous sign: 

Notice: 
"Swearing, loud, boisterous talk, political, 
religious and exciting disputes will not 
be allowed. ' ' 

This was quite appropriate in the days when the " Know 
Nothing" excitement was rampant. The land on which it 
stood had trebled and quadrupled in value, but the building 
itself was an incumbrance which the owners were glad to give 
away. Charles Coutant, the last of his name died in 1899, 
leaving most of his wealth to charitable institutions. 




94 



No. 22. Belmont Mansion, Fifth Avenue. 




rAou-eaj 




BELMONT MANSION, FIFTH AVENUE 

^iThin the space of a very few years, Fifth 
avenue has changed from a street of palace 
residences to a street devoted to trade and 
occupied with massive buildings erected for 
business purposes. 
Among the most spacious and elegant of the dwellings 
that have disappeared, was the superb residence of August Bel- 
mont, on the northeast corner of Eighteenth street. On March 
15, 1851, Richard K. Haight sold to Stephen Pott the vacant 
lot having a front of seventy feet on Fifth avenue and one 
hundred and twenty-five feet on Eighteenth street. The 
price was $22,800 — a large price at that time. He also 
purchased a lot next east of this, with a front of twenty-five 
feet on Eighteenth street, the price being $500. Upon these 
lots Mr. Pott erected a large and elegant mansion and sold 
it March 26, 1853, to Elizabeth Gihan, wife of John Gihan, 
a very prominent merchant, for the recorded price of $119,500. 
For some years he was very prosperous, but owing to finan- 
cial reverses, Mrs. Gihan sold the mansion to August 



97 



EARLT NEW YOR.K. HOUiEi 



Belmont, December 28, 1857, for $90,000. Mr. Belmont also 
purchased from Adelia L,. Otis, the house and lot next 
adjoining, with a front of thirty feet on the avenue, at a cost 
of $130,000. These houses, united, composed the Belmont 
mansion, so famous in later years. 

August Belmont, the owner of this palatial mansion, was 
born in Alzey, in the Palatinate, Rhenish Prussia, December 
6, 1816. His early training, eminently fitted him for a 
financial career, coming to this country as an agent for the 
Rothschilds, a family whose name is synonymous with wealth. 
He established a banking house in New York in 1837. From 
the very beginning his resolution seemed to be a resolve to 
become as quickly as possible a citizen of the United States 
and become an American in the true sense of the word. In 
1849 he was united in marriage with the daughter of Commo- 
dore Matthew C. Perry, a name famous in our country's 
annals. Taking an active interest in politics, he became 
one of the leaders of the Democratic party, and was a very liberal 
contributor to its interests, and was made chairman of 
important committees. As United States Minister to Holland, 
he exercised great skill and judgment, and as a diplomatist 
he was excelled by few. The Belmont mansion was one of 
the centers of social life. To the original building he added 
a large conservatory and a picture gallery, filled with the 
choicest works of art, to which he was a liberal patron. 
Mr. Belmont died November 24, 1890, at the age of seventy- 
four. The banking house which he founded is still in full pros- 
perity and his sons are well-known in the financial, social and 
political world. 

9 8 



EARLY NEW TOR.K HOU-SEV.S 



The elegant mansion of which a view is given, was torn 
down in 1889 and a much larger building devoted to business 
now occupies its place. With the exception, perhaps, of the 
house of Marshall O. Roberts, it was the most imposing and 
elegant mansion on the famous avenue. 

Among the first of the'large entertainments given in the 
Belmont mansion, was the reception to the Japanese Ambas- 
sadors. This took place immediately after the ports of Japan 
had been opened to American commerce, through the efforts 
of Commodore Perry, father of Mrs. Belmont. As a slight 
acknowledgment of his inestimable services, the United States 
Government presented Commodore Perry with a service of 
silver plate of great elegance and value. It was left in the 
Belmont house and used on great occasions. 




99 



LafC. 



No. 23. House President Monroe Died In. 




THE HOUJE IN WHICH PRESIDENT JAMEi 
MONROE DIED 

mong the best known and most prominent 
citizens of New York, in the early part of 
this century was Samuel L. Gouverneur, 
a member of an ancient and honorable family, 
and one of the lineal descendants of the 
famous, but ill fated Jacob Leisler. He married Maria, the 
daughter of President James Monroe, and was by him 
appointed postmaster of New York. On December 16, 1823 
he purchased from Philip Brasher the two lots bounded 
east by Orange street (now Marion) and south by Prince 
street. Each lot was twenty-four feet nine inches in width 
and the price was $2,159 which was probably a fair value 
for lots in that vicinity. Upon these lots he built two houses, 
both of which still remain ; and in the corner house he made 
his residence. This is now No. 63 Prince street. 

President Monroe, famous and justly honored, both as a 
soldier in the Revolution, and as the chief executive of the 
nation, lived in the latter years of his life in honest poverty 



103 



EARLY NEW YORK HOU^Ej 



and made his home with his son-in-law Mr. Gouverneur. 
For more than fifty years he had been one of the greatest 
men of the nation. Entering the Revolutionary army in 
1776 he passed through all grades from lieutenant to 
colonel. He distinguished himself in several battles, and 
at Trenton he was severely wounded. As a member of the 
Legislature of Virginia, Member of the House of Repre- 
sentatives, Senator, Minister to France, Minister to England, 
Envoy to Spain, Secretary of State and as President ; in all 
these high positions he was conspicuous. His resolutions 
to defend the newly established republics of South America, 
resulted in making the " Monroe Doctrine " an inseparable 
part of the national policy. 

On July 1, 1831 the spirit of the patriot and statesman 
passed away. The announcement of his decease was appro- 
priately noticed by the legislative, literary, commercial and 
judicial bodies, and the citizens of New York united to do 
honor to his memory. His remains were laid to rest in the 
Marble Cemetery, where they remained until July 4, 1858, 
when, with highest honors, they were removed to his native 
state, and now rest in Hollywood Cemetery, Richmond. 

The west house built by Samuel L. Gouverneur, was 
sold by him to Alfred Seton, June 28, 1829 for $8,000. 
The corner house in which the President died, was sold to 
Miles R. Burke, April 16, 1832 for $10,750. Both have 
long since fallen from the station of desirable city residences, 
and as the signs upon them indicate are now devoted to 
inferior works of trade. The view represents them as they 
appeared July 1, 1891. 



104 



No. 24. New York Hotel. 





NEW YOKK. HOTEL 

HE lots on Broadway, between Waverley place 
and Washington place, are a part of the 
Herring Farm. Broadway, or what was 
formerly known as " Great George street," 
was extended to this neighborhood in 1794. 
A few years later lands had began to have a speculative value, 
but were considered quite remote from the city. The lots 
near where the University of the City of New York afterwards 
stood, were purchased by the Presbyterian churches for 
cemeteries, it being thought that they would never be dis- 
turbed in so distant a locality. In 1832, the entire front on 
Broadway, between the streets above mentioned, was owned by 
Luke Kip and in 1843 it was sold by his heirs to Matthew 
Morgan and Hickson W. Field, and in the same year they 
erected the building, which at that time, was the farthest 
north of any hotel in the city. For many years it was one 
of the most popular hotels in the city and was especially a 
favorite resort for Southerners visiting New York. At the 
outbreak of the rebellion this fact made some trouble for 



107 



EARLY NEW YORK HOUjEvj 



the proprietors, whose love of gain rather outweighed their 
patriotism and prevented them from exhibiting the outward 
signs of patriotic feeling, which at that time seemed called 
for. The loss of Southern patronage was a great blow to its 
prosperity, from which it never fully recovered, and it was 
overshadowed by other and larger hotels, which the prosperity 
following the war, caused to spring up in every quarter. 

In 1893 it passed into the hands of a receiver, and the 
entire building was sold to Randolph Guggenheimer. It 
was soon after demolished and the present magnificent office 
buildings were erected in their stead. The view represents 
the hotel as it appeared January 10, 1894, at which time the 
process of demolition had just begun. 

As an illustration of the value of real estate in this 
locality, it may be stated, that the whole block, bounded by 
Broadway, Washington place, Mercer street and Fifth street, 
was purchased by Luke Kip in 1828 at a cost of $29,000. 
A lot 32 feet front on Broadway and 200 feet on Washington 
place, was sold for $1,000. 




ioS 



No. 25. Fraunces Tavern. 




FKAUNCE^' TAVEKN 




|his building, on the southeast corner of Pearl 
and Broad streets, has doubtless attracted 
more attention than any other in the lower 
part of the city. The site on which it stands 
is part of a water lot, granted by the city to 
Col. Stephanus Van Cortlandt, November 19, 1686. What is 
now Pearl was then " Dock street," and the south line was the 
shore of the river. On April 11, 1700, Col. Van Cortlandt 
and his wife Gertrude, gave to Stephen De Lancy, "their well- 
beloved son-in-law, all that certain corner lot or toft of ground, 
containing in length on the north side fronting Dock street, 
51 feet, and in breadth fronting the Broad street, 36 feet 6 
inches, and bounded east by Philip French and south by the 
lot they had given to Samuel Bayard." On this place 
Stephen DeLancy built his home. 

On January 15, 1762, Oliver DeLancy, Beverly Robinson 
and James Parker sold to Samuel Francis, " inkeeper," the 
" dwelling house and lot of ground thereto belonging," for 
the sum of ^"2,000, Samuel Francis, the inkeeper, came from 



E.AR.LT NEW YORK HOUJEj 



the West Indies. He was probably a mulatto, for bis dark 
complexion is evidenced by his nickname of " Black Sam," 
by which he was popularly known. Here he kept the most 
popular " inn " in the city, but its fame is derived from the 
fact, that here in 1783, General Washington took leave of his 
fellow officers, who under him had brought the Revolution to 
a successful close. Before the war, the inn was known by 
the sign of the " Queen's Head," but this was speedily dropped 
and it was known as " Fraunces' Tavern." In its " Long 
Room,'' the meetings of the Chamber of Commerce were held 
and it was frequented by the most famous men of the time. 

" Black Sam " evidently became tired of tavern keeping 
and made a change, for on April 23, 1785, we find that 
" Samuel Fraunces, late of the City of New York, innkeeper, 
but at present of the County of Monmouth, New Jersey, 
farmer, and Elizabeth his wife," sell to " George Powers, 
butcher, of Brooklyn," all his dwelling house and lot bounded 
as above. The price was ^1,950, which indicates that real 
estate has not recovered its former value. George Powers sold 
it to Dr. Nicholas Romaine, April 30, 1795. At that time 
prices had risen, for he obtained ^2,200, or $5,500. Dr. 
Romaine in turn sold to John S. Moore, June 24, 1800. He 
only kept it a short time and on June 22, 1801, he sold it to 
Thomas Gardener, for $7,500. It was then described as 
bounded " north by Pearl street, formerly Dock street." In 
the division of the estate of Thomas Gardener, it fell to his son 
John Gardener. He left two daughters, Mrs. Malvina 
Kettletas, and Mrs. Jane McCarthy. In the division of 
estate it fell to the latter, who afterward married Count de 



E.ARLT NEW TOR.K HOUJEj 

Dion. She has since deceased, and it is now owned by her 
children who are living in France. Fraunces' Tavern, was 
originally but two stories in height, but in later years three 
more were added. The " Long Room," on the second floor 
remains practically unchanged since the days before the 
Revolution. The present indications are that the " march of im- 
provement" will not long spare this interesting relic of the past. 




OLD FRAUNCES' TAVERN. 



"3 



EARLY NEW YORK HOVSES 
WITH HISTORICAL 0^ GEN- 
EALOGICAL NOTES BY- — - 
WILLIAM S.PELLETREAV.A.M. 
PHOTOGRAPHS OFOLDHOVSES 
C-ORIOINAL ILLVSTRATIONSBY 
C.G.MOLLER .JR. v * * * * v v v v v 




IN TEN PARTS 
PART VI 



FRANCIS P.HARPER, PVBLIS HER 
NEW YORK,A.D.jQOO^ ********* 




EDITION 
300 COPIES-5 
2j JAPAN PAPER 



Copyrighted 1900 by 
Francis P. Harper 



No. 26. Government House. 



*vfl 




THE GOVERNMENT HOUSE AND ITS 
JURR.OUNDINOJ 




?T the time when New York was not only the 
capital of the state, but also of the nation, it 
was resolved to erect a mansion for the resi- 
dence of the president of the new republic 
which would be worthy of the city which was 
honored by his presence. In accordance with this, the "Govern- 
ment House " was built on the site of the old fort, which had 
been a landmark from the earliest days of New Amsterdam. 
The removal of the capital of the nation to Philadelphia, and 
Albany having been made the capital of the state, the object 
for which the " Government House " was erected, no longer 
existed. Probably no building in the city, worthy of mention, 
had so brief an existence. It was destroyed before 1815 and 
the land sold by the city for private dwellings. 

The houses seen in this view on the east side of White- 
hall street and on the south side of the ancient Marketfield 
street, have never been described and as relics of old New 
York, are worthy of extended mention. The ancient " Mark- 



117 



EAR.LT NE.W TOR.K HOUjEi 

velt Steige," or Marketfield lane, originally extended from the 
" mark veldt" or market field (now Bowling Green) to Broad 
street. The eastern part of this street still exists and is one 
of the very few streets of the Dutch period which has never 
been widened. The western part of it was discontinued and 
closed when the Produce Kxchange was built. The lot at the 
north corner of Whitehall and Stone streets was the original 
house of Frederick Phillipse, the richest man in New Amster- 
dam. It remained in his family till the time of the Revol- 
ution, when it was the city residence of his great grandson 
Frederick Phillipse, the last Lord of the Manor of Phillipse- 
burgh, in Westchester County. As he adhered to the English 
cause, his property was confiscated, and this lot with the 
houses was sold by the Commissioners of Forfeitures, to Isaac 
Hubble, June 14, 1785, for £1,570, or $3,925. He divided 
it into three lots, and sold the south two lots to Captain John 
Lamb, of Revolutionary fame ; the north lot he sold to Daniel 
Niven, who in turn sold it to Solomon Smith. In 1798 it was 
owned by his heirs, and they sold it to Isaac Pierson in 1809. 
Next north of this was a lot which in the earliest Dutch times 
was the homestead of the De Kay family and owned by 
Jacobus De Kay. It descended to his son Tennis and from 
him to his son, Johanes De Kay, who in 1735 sold it to his 
mother, Helena, widow of Tennis De Kay. She left it to her 
daughter, Helena, who married Rev. Gerardus Haaghoort, of 
Second River, New Jersey, and they sold to John Wendell in 
1771. It was sold to Isaac Gouvemeur, July 16, 1799, for 
$2,600. His heirs sold it to Isaac Pierson in 1821. 



n8 



EARLT NEW TORK. HOUSE j 

Next north was a lot which was owned by James Walters 
in 1735. In the latter part of the last century it was owned 
by Edward Nicoll, who probably built the house. His heirs 
sold it to Isaac Pierson in 1821. 

The two houses so conspicuous in the view were built 
by Captain John Lasher about 1780. In 1806, his son, John 
B. Lasher, sold the corner house to Jacob Levy, Jr., for 
$9,500 and the other to Charles Duryee, for $8,300. These, 
with the adjoining buildings, appear to have burned in the 
great fire of 1849. 

The next house east on Marketfield street, was that of 
James Sergeant, who bought it of Abraham Labagh in 1789. 
Next east were two houses of John Currie. The farthest 
house, with the peaked roof, stood on the site of the French 
Huguenot Church, built in 1686. The Produce Exchange 
covers the site of all these buildings. 




"9 



No. 27. The Apthorpe Mansion. 




THE APTHORPE MANSION 




mong the most prominent citizens of New York, 
in the middle of the last century, was Charles 
Ward Apthorpe. He was a member of the 
Council and in wealth and social position, 
stood foremost among the aristocracy of that 
time. His landed estate included a tract of about two hundred 
acres on the east side of the Bloomingdale road, and upon this 
he erected the mansion which has been standing within recent 
years. It stood on an eminence which overlooked the Hudson, 
and was considered, and justly, a model of elegant architecture, 
and in all of its appointments it was not exceeded by any 
mansion in the vicinity. At the time of the Revolution, he 
was not an active partisan, and succeeded in convincing the 
Committee of Safety of his peaceable intentions, and was not 
disturbed. General Washington made this place his head- 
quarters. It was here that the secret expedition of Nathan 
Hale, was planned, which brought him an untimely fate, and 
an immortal name. After the Revolution the family were 
overtaken by adverse circumstances, and the whole estate with 

113 



EARLY NEW TORR HOUiEJ 

the elegant mansion were sold at Sheriff's sale in 1799, to 
Hugh Williamson, for $10,000. Through this estate ran a 
narrow road called " Apthorpe's Lane," and disputes as to the 
title have made it of some importance in real estate dealings. 
It ran through the middle of the block, between 93d and 94th 
streets, and squatter's taking advantage of this erected small 
shanties, some of which still remain. The exact location of 
the mansion was on the north side of 91st street, one hundred 
feet west of Ninth avenue. In late years, fallen from its high 
estate, it became a lager beer garden, under the name of 
" Elm Park," and was a pleasant resort for Germans, sur- 
rounded as it was by a portion of its guard of ancient forrest 
trees. Upon a portion of this estate stood the tree made 
famous by Gen. George P. Morris, in his immortal poem, 
" Woodman Spare that Tree." The mansion was taken down 
in 1886, and with it vanished one of the most beautiful and 
elegant specimens of colonial architecture. 

Charles Ward Apthorpe, who built this residence, died 
here in May, 1797, at the age of seventy-three. Hon. Hugh 
Williamson, who purchased it, married a daughter of Mr. 
Apthorpe. She died young, and her husband, surviving her, 
died here in 1819. 



124 



No. 28. Metropolitan Hotel. 




<y\Obka&4) 



METROPOLITAN HOTEL 




N 1832 Ramsay Crook leased to William Niblo, 
" two houses and back buildings and eight 
lots, bounded west by Broadway, south by 
Prince street, east by Crosby street and north 
by the house of Isaac E. Kip," and spoken of 
as " an hotel and garden," and included plants and green 
houses, which were valued at $1,923. The annual rent for 
the whole was $2,800. Such was the begining of what was in 
later years so famous as " Niblo's Garden," one of the most 
popular resorts in the city. A theatre was later established, 
which perpetuated the name of the garden, and from the 
beginning was thronged by the lovers of the drama. In 1851 
the entire block was purchased and a hotel was built, which 
was intended and for many years actually did eclipse all the 
other hotels in the city. When the Metropolitan Hotel was 
opened in 1852, it was inaugurated with a stupendous ban- 
quet. Stephen A. Douglass, Thomas H. Benton and Samuel 
Houston, famous men of the nation, were present ; voluminous 
descriptions of the hotel appeared in the newspapers ; crowds 

127 



EARLY NEW YORK. HOUjEj 



assembled to gaze upon the building. It was considered by 
conservative people to be a most unwarranted piece of 
extravagance, but it was in charge of the Leland brothers, 
the recognized leaders in the art of hotel keeping and they 
knew their business. The Metropolitan became at once the 
most popular hotel in the city, and its complement of 1,000 
guests did not fall off and till the time of the war it was the 
resort of the most famous people of the South. The theatre, 
which was a part of the immense building, was greatly 
enlarged. Here was exhibited the " Black Crook," which had 
a run of 1,000 nights, and for "spectacular gourgeousness," 
has never been excelled. The theatre held its popularity 
long after the hotel began to decline. The Lelands, after 
holding it for twenty years, found that the city was running 
ahead of them and newer hotels attracted the crowd. They 
relinquished the place and it was taken by Wm. M. Tweed, 
who established his son Richard there as manager and opened 
the new hotel with a blaze of glory. A mighty crowd filled 
the place and champagne flowed like water. But nothing 
could restore the ancient prestige. The fall of the " Tweed 
Ring" only hastened the inevitable. The uptown movement 
carried popularity along with it and the grand hotel became 
an unprofitable business. In 1898 it was taken down and 
business buildings took its place. 

When the Astor House was built, it was considered too 
far out of the city. When the Metropolitan was opened it 
was considered " far uptown," but the march of fashion has 
gone still farther and it was left behind in its turn. 



128 



No. 29. The Old London Gate. 




THE, OLD LONDON OATE" 

'he view here given can hardly be said to be one 
of " Old New York," but its curious appear- 
ance, and the fact that it must in the nature 
of things soon be removed, warrants a full 
account of it. In 1886, a company of English- 
men conceived the idea of erecting in this city, a building 
whose front should be a perfect fac-simile of the famous 
" Bishop's Gate," in London, and to be filled with interesting 
relics of the past centuries, and it was hoped that the curiosity 
of the public would make such an exhibition a profitable 
venture. The lot on which it is erected, was where the 
" Church of the Messiah," one of the most prominent of the 
Universalist churches in the city, formerly stood. It is on the 
east side of Broadway and directly opposite Washington place. 
The building was duly erected, and among the many curiosi- 
ties, were large sized models of ancient houses in England, 
such as the houses of Milton, Defoe, Bunyan, and other men 
celebrated in history, so that a person entering was introduced 
to London as it was in the seventeenth century. The 



«3i 



EARLV NEW TORK HOUiEJ 

enterprise was at first successful, and the novelty caused it to 
be visited by a throng of people, eager to see the dwelling 
places of a long past age. This novelty, however, soon wore 
off, and notwithstanding various expedients for attracting 
visitors, the show ceased to attract, and became unprofitable. 
The relics and curiosities were finally removed, and the build- 
ing at the present time is leased to an athletic club. The 
" Bishop's Gate " goes back to a time when archers and archery 
were the means of defence against a beleaguring foe. The 
long narrow slits in the wall, which served for windows, were 
made with that view, and statues of the saints standing in 
niches, lend an ecclesiastical appearance to the whole. 




132 



No. 30. Walhalla Hall. 



jh y 






WALHALLA HALL 

|hirTy years ago a man named Hardfeldter 
built the edifice known in late times as Wal- 
halla Hall. It stood at the corner of Grand 
and Orchard streets. The latter at that time, 
from Canal street to Houston, was filled by 
substantial dwelling houses, inhabited by a respectable class 
of citizens ; but one by one they fell before the march of the 
giant tenements, and Walhalla was about the last to succumb. 
The social state of the dingy building, No. 48 Orchard street, 
has kept pace in a great measure with the glass of beer that 
was sold there from 1868, when it was built, down to recent 
times. At first the " stein" was tall and well filled and the com- 
pany was solid. In time the glasses grew smaller, and the 
company, like the beer, frothier. Adam and Conrad Geib leased 
the hall from the builder and for many years it was the 
rallying place for the Germans. After a time it became 
cosmopolitan and its walls rang with the shouts of all nations. 
The force of police was constantly increased as the " Bowery 
Indians," " Plug Hats " and other creators of woe made it 



'35 



EAR.LT NEW YOR-K HOUjEj 



the scene of their revels. In times of strikes, the idle cloak 
makers and other garment makers, held meetings there and 
hundreds slept there who had no other shelter. No place on 
the " east side " so often resounded with the blatant orations 
of labor agitators and political demagogues. Walhalla, in 
Scandinavian mythology, was the place of immortality pre- 
pared for the souls of heroes slain in battle, but the battles 
fought in this modern Walhalla were mostly, though not 
always, as the police can testify, fought with noisy tongues, 
by natives of all countries except America. 

In December, 1898, the decree went forth that the building 
no longer profitable, on account of unpaid rent, should give 
way for a many-storied tenement, and shortly after the relic 
of the past was demolished and is now only a memory and 
not a pleasant one at that. 




136 



EARLY NEW YORK HOVSES 
WITH HISTORICAL 0^ GEN- 
EALOGICAL NOTES BY' — — 
WILLIAM S.PELLETREAV,A.M. 
PHOTOGRAPHS OFOLDHOVSES 
^ORIGINAL ILLVSTRATIONSBY 
C.G.MOLLER . JR. v * * v v v v v v v 



(sr 3 ^ 




IN TEN PARTS 
PART VII 



FRANCIS P.HARPER, PVBLIS HER 
NEW YORK.A.D.jQOO* vv v v v v is 1/ v 




EDITION 
XOO COPIES^ 
2J JAPAN PAPER 



Copyrighted 1900 by 
Francis P. Harper 



Xo. 31. House of Garrit Furman. 




HOUiE OF OARRIT FURMAN, No. 94 
MADIION STREET 




HE farm of Hendrick Rutgers, is one of the 
most important tracts, which laid out into 
streets and lots, enlarged the early city. His 
descendant Henry Rutgers, on February 5, 
1827, sold to Garrit Furman, two lots Nos. 
466-497. The price was $4,300. These lots were bounded 
north by Bancker street, (now Madison,) and south by 
Lombardy street, (now Monroe,) the one being in the rear of 
the other. On the former lot, Mr. Furman erected the house 
which is now No. 94 Madison street, and is a fair example of 
the better class of residences in the early part of the century. 
Upon lot 497, he built convenient stables, and between the two 
was an elegant and well kept garden. This place was the 
winter residence of Mr. Furman, his country seat being at 
Maspeth, Long Island, not far from the mansion of Governor 
De Witt Clinton, of whom he was an intimate and devoted 
friend. Mr. Furman was born at " White Pot, " a locality 
near Newtown, in 1782, and was for many years actively 

"39 



EARLY NEW TORK. HOUJEJ 



engaged in business life in New York. He was also a collector 
and was possessed of one of the finest mineralogical collec- 
tions in the state. Mr. Furman married Mary Eaton, of 
Rocky Point, L. L, a descendant of John Baton, of Dedham, 
Massachusetts. To his descendant, Mr. C. G. Moller, Jr., this 
work is indebted for many of its most interesting illustrations. 

After a long life of usefulness and honor, Mr. Furman 
died at his country seat in Maspeth, June 6, 1848. Mr. 
Furman, in his intervals of leisure, wrote several works of 
superior merit. Among them were, " Rural Hours," a poem 
published with illustrations in 1824. " Napoleon's Grave," a 
poem which appeared in 1826. The "Maspeth Poems," a book 
of one hundred and twenty-eight pages illustrated, and with a 
portrait of the author, engraved by A. B. Durand. " Long 
Island Miscellanies," by "Rusticus Gent," an illustrated 
volume. 

It is needless to say that the American families of the 
ancient race, are no longer found dwelling on the streets on 
the Rutgers' farm. They have long since departed, and their 
place is usurped by foreigners, whose varied languages make 
that locality a second Babel. 



M° 



No. 2,2. The Church of the Strangers. 





THE "CHURCH OF THE ^TRANOERJ" 

his church, which lately stood on the west side 
of Mercer street, about 125 feet south of 
Eighth street or Clinton place, is on land 
leased from the Sailors' Snug Harbor and 
was built in 1834 for the Mercer street Pres- 
byterian Church, the first pastor being Rev. Dr. Thomas H. 
Skinner. At that time it was further uptown than any 
church in the city. The Union Theological Seminary and 
the first branch of the Young Men's Christian Association 
were organized within its walls. The congregation about 
1866 consolidated with the Presbyterian church on University 
place and the church became vacant. About that time 
Rev. Dr. Charles Deems came from the South and began 
holding non-sectarian meetings in a hall of the University 
building on Washington square. His preaching attracted the 
attention of Commodore Vanderbilt, who sent for him and 
handed him a check for $50,000 to purchase the church 
building. To the suggestion of Dr. Deems, that the gift 
should be made to trustees, the Commodore replied in his 



'43 



EARLY NEWiTORK. HOUJEJ 



usual style, " No, sir ; some day you'll give those fellows the 
devil for their sins, and they will turn you out of your own 
church." And so the property remained in his possession 
till the time of his death in 1893. He was the only minister 
in New York who owned the church he preached in. 

The Church of the Strangers is a Christian Communion, 
composed of persons who have been members of almost every 
denomination. It is wholly unsectarian, their symbol of faith 
being the Apostles' Creed. 

After the death of Dr. Deems, the church had no regular 
pastor, and the church which had so long been thronged 
with worshippers, was taken down in the summer of 1898 
and a large building devoted to trade was erected on its site. 
We have tried to find a photograph of this building, but none 
appear to exist. 







144 



No. 33. The Jumel Mansion. 





THE JUMEL MANSION 

MONG the officers of Braddock's fated army, who 
survived the defeat, was Col. Roger Morris, 
a man of excellent family and honored line- 
age. On January 19, 1758, he married Mary 
Phillipse, daughter of Frederick Phillipse, 
and brother of Frederick Phillipse, the last Lord of the 
Manor of Phillipsburg, in Westchester County. Their 
city residence was the southeast corner of Stone street 
and Whitehall. Their country seat was a large farm on 
Harlem heights and extending from the Hudson to the 
Harlem river. Upon this Col. Morris erected the mansion 
now standing and which is probably the oldest residence on 
Manhattan Island. At the time of the Revolution this family 
adhered to the Crown, and Col. Morris, like his brother-in- 
law, Col. Beverly Robinson, was an active officer in the 
British army. When the war was over the estate was confis- 
cated, and on July 9, 1784, Isaac Stoutenburg and Philip 
Van Cortlandt, as Commissioners of Forfeitures, sold the 
mansion and farm of one hundred and fifteen acres to John 

147 






EARLY NEW YORK. HOUJE.J 



Berrien and Isaac Ledyard, for the sum of .£2,250. It is 
described as situated " on Harlem Heights, and forfeited to the 
People of this State by the attainder of Col. Roger Morris." 
It was on both sides of the old Albany Post road and is spoken 
of as being " between the tenth and eleventh milestones." 

The executors of John Berrien sold his half to Anthony 
L. Bleecker, April 15, 1791, for .£1,000. The share of Isaac 
Ledyard was afterwards owned by Theodore Hopkins and 
Michael Foy, "merchants of London," and on February 1, 
1792, they also sold their half to Anthony L. Bleecker, for 
,£1,000. The price thus paid for the whole was $5,000. 

Mr. Bleecker sold the whole to Wm. Kenyon, September 
25, 1793, and he in turn conveyed it to Leonard Parkinson, 
" of Hinnersley Castle, Hereford, England," August 29, 1799, 
the price being ,£3,000, or $7,500. His son, Leonard Parkin- 
son, lived on the place for several years, and on April 
28, 1810, he sold the whole to Stephen Jumel for $10,000. 
Stephen Jumel was a Frenchman and a merchant of wealth 
and luxurious tastes. The mansion was quickly refurnished 
in most magnificent style, and " Lordly as a Jumel banquet," 
became a proverb. 

In all these things he was ably seconded by his wife, a 
woman of vast ambition, and " Madame Jumel " became a 
power in the social world. 

In May, 1832, wearied and broken down and satiated with 
the pleasures of the world, Stephen Jumel died and his widow 
came in possession of the estate. 

Long before this Madame Jumel formed the acquaintance 
of Aaron Burr, who quickly formed the plan of mending his 

148 



EARLY NEW YORK HOUiEJ 



own fallen fortunes by marrying the wealthy widow. His 
suit was successful, and on July 1, 1833, they were married, 
but in Madame Jumel, Burr found a person whose temper and 
will were more than a match for his own. A brief period of 
stormy married life was followed by a separation and the 
acquaintance was never renewed. 

Madame Jumel died at an advanced age in 1865, and then 
followed long and expensive law suits, only decided in recent 
years. The woman, who was in her youth a leader in society, 
died a recluse and a miser. 

The famous mansion stands near the southeast corner of 
the original estate and is the home of Gen. and Mrs. Ferdi- 
nand P. Earle. Mrs. Earle and her distinguished husband 
are well-known members of various patriotic secieties, and 
under their control, the glories of the mansion in the past are 
once more renewed. 

Col. Roger Morris died in Chester, England, 1794. His 
widow survived him many years and died in 1825. 




COL ROGER MORRIS. 



MARY" PHILLIFSE— MRS. COL. ROGER MORRIS. 



149 



No. 34. The Gemmell House, Duane and Broadway. 



2t'>'.~*.^ 



'. i-. ■'.. " 





THE OEMMBLL HOUJE DUANE AND BROADWAY. 




his house which was the oldest building on 
Broadway at the time of its destruction is a 
curious instance of the changes in value of real 
estate irrespective of the buildings erected 
upon it. 

In the latter part of the last century Broadway practically 
stopped at Chambers street, and when the Lispenard farm or 
meadows was laid into lots this street was extended through 
them. A portion of this tract fell to Henry Barclay as one 
of the heirs of the estate, and on August 18, 1786 his execu- 
tors sold to John Harvey, " grocer," lot number 5, bounded 
west by Broadway, north by Anthony street (now Duane), 
south by lot number 6 and east by lot number 9. This lot 
was 23 feet 7 inches wide and 86 feet in length. The price 
was ^100 or $250 and shows very plainly what was then con- 
sidered the value of an eligible building lot at that time, in a 
region that was " out of the city." 

On this lot John Harvey, "grocer," built a small wooden 
house which stood for over a century. He was evidently un- 

'53 



EARLY NEW TOR.K. HOUSE* 



successful in business, for lie made an assignment to Wm. 
Alexander, a prominent merchant, who sold the house and lot 
to Peter Bruce, "merchant," April 22, 1796, for /790 or $1,- 
975. Mr. Bruce occupied it during his life and left it to his 
children George L., Robert W., William W., Mary and Ann 
L. wife of Dr. Gerardus A. Cooper. They mortgaged it to the 
Eagle Fire Insurance Company in 1818 for $7,000 in gold, 
and on foreclosure it was sold at auction to the Company for 
$8,600, which shows a great advance in value. 

The purchasers sold it to James Gemmell, " grocer," Jan. 
6, 1825, for $9,000. It remained unchanged in the possession 
of the heirs of James Gemmell till 1898, when it was sold to the 
Astors, and was demolished in the summer of that year and a 
large business building erected upon its site. This house and 
lot is on the north part of what was in old times the " Negroes 
Burying Ground " and when the large building on the north 
corner of Broadway and Reade street was erected in 1897, the 
bones of its former occupants were exposed by the excavation. 
The price paid for the house and lot in 1898 is said to have 
been $200,000, showing the wonderful increase in value 
within one century. This interesting relic of the past was 
taken down in summer of 1898. 




154 



No. 35. The Houses on Bowling Green. 



THE HOUSED AT BOWLING OREEN 




Jhen tlie Dutch settled on Manhattan Island, 
their first work was to build a fort, as a much 
needed protection from the savage tribes, and 
in honor of the city in " fatherland," they 
called it "Fort Amsterdam." Within the 
walls of this fort were all the public buildings, including the 
church, and here all public business was transacted, until the 
time when the Stadt House was built on Pearl street opposite 
Coenties slip. After the English conquest, the fort took the 
name of the sovereigns who occupied the British throne, 
beginning as Fort James and ending as Fort George. After 
the Revolution it became the property of the state of New 
York. The ancient fort was leveled to the ground and a 
large and expensive mansion was erected for the use of the 
Governor. When the Capitol was removed to Albany it 
was no longer needed. The state sold the land to the city. 
The lots bounded south by Pearl street (which is the oldest 
street in the city), were originally bounded north by 
the fort. 



"57 



EAR.LT NEW TOR.K HOUJEJ 

In 1808 Bridge street was extended to State street. This 
left a narrow strip of land on the south side of the street, 
which was sold to the owners of the lots on Pearl street. The 
remainder of the land was divided into lots and sold at public 
auction, on Tuesday, June 16, 1815. The following map shows 
the lots with the names of the purchasers and prices paid. 
The purchasers of lots 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, built the houses in 1818. 
Lot 6, was sold to May Black, who also built in 1818. Noah 
Brown sold lot 7 to Hariet Fulton, widow of the famous 
Robert Fulton and she sold it to Stephen Whitney, who built 
the house now standing in 1825. These houses were built 
for private residences in what was then the most fashionable 
part of the city, and it was never supposed that they would 
be used for business purposes. 

When Whitehall street was widened, in 1852, almost the 
whole of lot 1 was taken, leaving a strip about two feet wide, 
which is shown in the view. 

About twenty years since, these elegant houses were 
abandoned as private residences, and almost the whole of 
them have since been used as steamship offices. 

In 1899 the entire block was bought by the United 
States as a site for a new Custom House, and the work of 
demolishing the buildings was begun in February, 1900. 

The annexed map shows the " Government House Lots," 
as sold in 1815, with names of purchasers and prices paid. 

Lot 9 was sold in 1828 to " Daniel Webster, Esq., of the 
town of Boston," a name not unknown in our country's 



. 5 8 



EARLT NEW TORK HOUJE.S 



annals. This was the only piece of land the great statesman 
ever owned in this city. 



£t>^£~y £lc 




Stfiifyt $fau£~ o/p~s<S /ko* 






or.y„Z* j»—n( 4;^ c? ?o*-r- jf^a&raf***,. 





■59 



EARLY NEW YORK HOVSES 
WITH HISTORICAL 0^ GEN- 
EALOGICAL NOTES BY- — — 
WILLIAM S.PELLETREAV,A.M 
PHOTOGRAPHS OFOLDHOVSES 
^ORIGINAL ILLVSTRATIONSBY 
C.G.MOLLER. ]R. v * * y v v y v v v 




IN TEN PARTS 
PART VIII 



FRANGIS P.HARPER, PVBLIS HER 
NEW YORK,A.D.jQOO^ v v y v v v v v v 




EDITION 
300 COPIES- 
2j JAPAN PAPER 



Copyrighted 1900 by 
Francis P. Harper 



No. 36. House No. 28 Cliff Street. 






%3£gp 




KvEJ^> 


o 


£v3si 




SEE 





HOU3E NO. 26 CLIFF ITREET. 

|n August 9, 1681, Dirck Vander Clyff, pur- 
chased from Henry Ryckens, a tract of land 
bounded south by Maiden Lane, north by the 
farm of Wm. Beekman, west by the Shoemak- 
ers' Pasture, and east by the rear line of lots 
that fronted on what is now Pearl street, but then the " Smiths' 
vly." There was a " wide alley " leading from this tract to the 
river side, and this alley, made a great deal wider, is now John 
street. On this tract Dirck Van der Clyff had an orchard and 
a house of entertainment where gentlemen could eat and drink 
and enjoy themselves. Through this tract he opened a nar- 
row street ; which is first mentioned November 13, 1686, and 
is the present Cliff street. He sold to Daniel Butts on the 
above date a house lot on what is now the southwest corner of 
John street and Cliff street. The lot was 42 feet wide and 
120 feet long " English measure," the price being stated with 
great minuteness, as ^~31 19s. 4d. 1 farthing. 

The house No. 28 Cliff street, of which a view is given, 
was built by Isaac Underhill about 1815, and is a fair sample 



163 



EARLT NEW TORK HOUiEi 



of what was then considered a very comfortable and respectable 
residence in a desirable locality. Isaac Underhill met with 
financial reverses, and on May 5, 1823, the house and lot was 
sold on foreclosure of mortgage to Samuel Baker Harper, for 
$6,120, which gives a fair idea as to the value at that day. It 
has remained in possession of the family till the present time, 
and is now owned by the children of James Philip Harper, 
who obtained it from his father, Samuel B. Harper, in ex- 
change for the house No. 45 St. Mark's place. The house 
No. 26 Cliff street was formerly the residence of Anthony 
Franklin, of a well known Quaker family very prominent in 
past days. No. 30 was the house of Henry Haydock, a 
prominent merchant in the early part of the century. At that 
time it was a street of private residences, inhabited by families 
of respectable standing, there was not much "business" above 
Maiden Lane, except on Pearl street. 

Samuel B. Harper married Christina Arcularius daugh- 
ter of Phillip J. Arcularius a well known leather merchant of 
his day. They had five children. Andrew Merril, who mar- 
ried Isabella Anderson, Amanda, wife of Wm. H. Sackett, 
Selina E., wife of Andrew Dimmock, James Philip, who 
married Margaret Perego, and Margaret M., wife of Oliver 
S. Fleet. 



ntonaNmrc&m 



164 



No. 37. Mulberry Bend. 





MULBERRY BEND 

PERSON who examines the map of New York, 
will notice the "bends" or angles in Mul- 
berry and Baxter streets. These bends mark 
the boundary between two large tracts of land 
in the olden times, the Bayard farm on the 
north, and the Kingston tract on the south. This was 
named from John Kingston, a blacksmith who bought it 
over a hundred years ago from the heirs of Philip Minthorne, 
who was one of the city aldermen. In 1771 Kingston laid 
out his tract in lots. A street running across the tract was 
called " Cross street," (now Park). Mott street, named from 
Jacob Mott, who bought a large lot. Orange street, (now 
Baxter), Mulberry street, and Little Water street, (now 
Mission place), because it lay next to the Fresh Water Pond. 
In 1795 the Bayard farm was laid out, and the old streets were 
extended, but not on the same line, and hence the " bends." 
A large number of these lots were bought by Edward 
Livingston, and other prominent men and in due time the 
streets were built up with cheap houses destined eventually 



167 



EAR.LT NEW TOR.K HOUJEj 

to become the habitations of the worst and most dangerous 
classes. 

In 1895 it was deemed for the best interests of the city to 
buy up the entire block, bounded by Park street, Mulberry 
street, Baxter street and Bayard street, and lay it out as a 
park or breathing place for the teeming population that 
crowded the neighborhood. At that time no part of the city 
had a worse reputation for crime of all kinds. Thieves and 
murderers found a safe refuge in the squallid tenements of 
the " bend." The buildings were sold at auction for trifling 
sums, and quickly removed by the purchasers, while the 
teeming population scattered to parts unknown. In the place 
of this scene of crime and wickedness there is now a beautiful 
park, and the effect upon the neighborhood has been most 
beneficial. The building seen in the view on Baxter street, 
was built by Felix O'Neil. " Bottle Alley " was between Nos. 
45-47 Baxter street. It was a nest of rookeries noted for 
brawls and beer. Many a man was murdered in Bottle Alley. 
In 1854 Cross street was changed to Park street, on petition of 
the mission society, in hopes that change of name might change 
its nature. In the same year Orange street was changed 
to Baxter, in honor of Lieut. Col. Charles Baxter, who was 
killed at the storming of Chapultepec, in the Mexican war. 

" Bandits Roost " was a wretched locality, it was an open- 
ing between Nos. 57-59 Mulberry street. Never a week passed 
but that an arrest for some heinous crime was made in 
" Bandits Roost." The lot on Mulberry street, next south of 
the " bend," was owned by Thomas Arden, a wealthy merchant, 
whose residence was on Pearl street, the addition made to the 

168 



EAR.LT NEW YORK. HOUjEj 

Police Gazette oflB.ce stands on its site. The lot north of the 
" bend " was a part of the Bayard farm, and was sold in early 
times to Stephen Van Rensellar, and by his heirs to Patrick 
Quinn, who was the first Irishman in a locality where they 
afterwards swarmed. Wide lots on both sides of the " bend " 
on Baxter street, were owned by Peter Schermerhorn, who erect- 
ed the buildings which remained till the whole was demolished. 
The houses shown in the view of Mulberry street were built 
by Edward Livingston and others about 1830. The average 
price of a lot on this tract in early times was about $300. It 
is needless to say that it was never fashionable. 




BOTTLE ALLEY. 



169 



No. 38. The Colonnade Houses on Broadway. 





THE, COLONNADE HOUJE^ ON BROADWAY 

ihen the farm of Elbert Herring was divided 
among his heirs, lot No. 3 fell to the share of 
Nicholas Herring. It was bounded on the 
west by Broadway, or what was then " Great 
George street," and extended from what is 
now Np. 718 Broadway, to a point about 145 feet north of 
Fourth street. It extended east of Lafayette place. This lot 
was sold by Nicholas Herring, to Anthony L. Bleecker, May 
12, 1789, for /325, or $812. He divided it into fourteen lots. 
On June 1, 1833, Blisha Bloomer, "hatter," purchased the 
two northermost lots, No. 13 and 14 for $15,600. Upon these 
lots he erected two houses exactly alike and called them the 
" Colonnade Houses. They were Nos. 714-716 Broadway. He 
sold the house No. 714, to Smith Ely, a very prominent 
citizen for $30,000, and he made an agreement with him that 
" whereas the two houses are built in such style and manner 
as to present an entire front of great beauty and elegance, and 
the marring and defacing or alteration of either might de- 
peciate the value of the other," it was agreed that neither 



173 



EARXT NEW YOR.K HOU.5E5 



should be changed without the consent of the owner of the 
other. No. 716 was sold to John Moon, for the same price in 
1836. At that time it was occupied by Philip Hone, who was 
the " gentleman " mayor of New York in 1826, the rent was 
$1,600 a year. Afterwards there came a great depression in 
real estate, and both these houses were sold under foreclosure 
in 1841 for $28,000. No. 714 passed through many hands and 
was torn down many years ago. No. 716 was sold to Charles 
G. Ferris, August 17, 1844, for $16,250. He was very promi- 
nent as a lawyer and politician, and at one time the collector 
of the port of New York. He was a personal friend of 
President Jackson, who frequently visited at this house. The 
last of Mr. Ferris' heirs to live in the mansion was his 
daughter Mrs. Caroline F. Lewis, who died there about 1887. 
It was sold by order of court in a partition suit among the 
heirs of Mr. Ferris, to Jacob and William Scholle, May 22, 
1889, for $75,500. It was then torn down and the present 
building erected in its place. These two houses stood directly 
opposite Washington place, and with the exception of the 
Goelet house were the last stylish residences on Broadway. 




■74 



No. 39. Hebrew Synagogue, West 19TH Street. 




HEBKEW JYNAOOOUE,, WEJT I9TH JTREET 




N the latter part of the seventeenth century, a 
colony of Portuguese Jews, fleeing from perse- 
cution in their own land came to New York. 
Finding here protection and safety, they 
increased in numbers and wealth. Among 
the records in the Register's Office is a deed from Jacob 
Melyn to Katherine Kerfbyl, dated October 30, 1700. It 
conveys a house and lot, bounded south by Mill street, north 
by David Provost and Lawrence Van Hook, west by David 
Provost, and east " by the house and ground of John Harper- 
din gb, now commonly known by the name of the Jew's Syna- 
gogue." This is the first mention of a synagogue in this city 
and seems to have escaped the notice of all the historians. 
The house of John Harperdingh is now No. 20 South William 
street. How long the Jews had occupied this house is 
unknown, but it was long enough to have gained its popular 
designation. On December 19, 1728 Cornelius Clopper sold to 
Lewis Gomez, Jacob Franks, Mordecai Gomez and Rodrigo 
Pacheco, a lot bounded south " by the street commonly called 

»77 



EARLY NEW YORK HOUJEJ 

the Mill street,'' west by the house and lot of James Alex- 
ander, Esq., north by Lawrence Van Hook and Samuel Lan- 
celot, east by Cornelius Clopper. The purchasers were the 
representatives of the Jewish congregation, and on this lot 
they built a synagogue and gave it the name of Shearith 
Israel (the Remnant of Israel), and here they worshipped the 
God of their ancestors for more than a hundred years. The 
place is now No. 24-26 South William street. In 1758 
Cornelius Clopper, Jr., sold them a lot on the east, and this and 
a small subsequent purchase extended the synagogue lot to 
what is now the Goelet Lot, No. 18, on the same street. On 
the south side of the building was a marble tablet bearing the 
following inscription : " The Holy Congregation of Shearith 
Israel in the year 5490." In 1833 the congregation sold the 
entire property to George Dickey, for $40,000, and built a 
new synagogue at No. 58 Crosby street. The increasing 
numbers and importance of the society rendered a much 
larger structure desirable, and on February 4, 1859, they 
purchased from Victor Barselon, a lot seventy feet wide on the 
north side of west 19th street, 100 feet west of Fifth avenue, 
the price being $25,000. Upon this they erected the synagogue 
of which a view is given, and was then the finest building of 
the kind in the United States. The corner stone was laid on 
the ninth day of the month Tamooz, 5619, (July 11, 1859), 
and the building was consecrated with imposing ceremonies 
on the twenty-fifth day of Elool, 5620, (September 12, 1860). 
The view shows the synagogue and its surroundings as it 
appeared in 1898. The building on the extreme right was 
the house of Henry Parish, on Fifth avenue, erected in 1860. 

i 7 8 



E.ARLT NEW TOR.K HOU.SE.S 



The synagogue and entire property was sold May 26, 
1898, to Wm. K. Everdell, for $135,000, and the Society of 
the " Remnant of Israel " now worship in an edifice of great 
grandeur on Central Park west. 




XS^^ 



FIRST SYNAOOGUE ON MILL STREET 
FROM A 3KETCH BY DAVID GRIM 



'79 



No. 40. The Van Ness Mansion. 




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THE, VAN NEii MANSION 

|n the days before the revolution, a large tract of 
land in that part of New York, known as 
" Greenwich Village," was owned by Oliver 
De Lancy. One of his daughters married Sir 
Peter Warren, an officer in the British navy, 
and the tract came into his possession. Sir Peter died in 
England, in 1752, leaving three daughters. Charlotte who 
married the Earl of Abingdon. Ann, wife of Lord South- 
ampton, and Susannah, wife of Col. William Skinner. The 
part of the farm which lay west of " Old Greenwich Lane," now 
Greenwich avenue, was sold by the Earl of Abingdon and his 
wife to David H. Mallows, in 1786. Upon this tract stood the 
mansion house of Sir Peter Warren, or rather his country 
seat, for it was then far from the city. In 1794 it was pur- 
chased by Abijah Hammond, a brave officer in the revolution. 
He afterwards became a real estate speculator, and owned 
more land in New York than any other man, but died at 
length in honest poverty. The mansion stood on the block 
now bounded by Bleecker, Perry Charles and west Fourth 



i8 3 



EARLY NEW TORK. HOUJEJ 



streets, and the entire block was sold by Mr. Hammond, to 
Whitehead Fish, a very prominent citizen and wealthy 
merchant. Mr. Fish made this his residence till the time of 
his death in 1819. It was sold by his heirs to Abraham Van 
Ness, for $15,000. He lived in it for many years and saw the 
great city gradually take the place of the country village. 
The land having become very valuable, the venerable mansion 
was destroyed after the death of Mr. Van Ness, which occurred 
September 1864, and the entire block is now covered with 
private residences. It was probably the last of the dwelling 
places of famous men, which built before the revolution, 
survived till recent times. 

In 1746, during an epidemic of small pox in the city, the 
General Assembly of the Province of New York, accepted the 
invitation of Sir Peter Warren, to occupy this mansion, and 
during that period all state papers were dated at " Greenwich." 




.8 4 



EARLY NEW YORK HOVSES 
WITH HISTORICAL ^GEN- 
EALOGICAL NOTES BY'^- 
WILLIAM S.PELLETREAV,A.M. 
PHOTOGRAPHS OF OLD HOVSES 
C^ORIcxINAL ILLVSTRATIONSBY 
C.G.MOLLER . ]R. v v y v v v v v v v 




IN TEN PARTS 
PART IX 



FRANCIS P.HARPER, PVBLIS HER 
NEW YORK,A.D.j900^ v v y v v v v v v 




EDITION 

300 copies-^ 

, 25 JAPAN PAPER 



Copyrighted 1900 by 
Francis P. Harper 



No. 41. Last Dwelling on Union Square. 



LAiT DWELLING HOUiE ON UNION .SQUARE. 



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?HE lots on the east side of Union Square are a 
part of the farm which in the early part of the 
century was owned by Cornelius Tiebout 
Williams, and were leased by him to Samnel B. 
Ruggles, May 1, 1834, for the term of thirty 
years, the rent for each lot being fifty dollars. Upon some of 
these lots he built brick houses, and on February 12, 1841, he 
sold to Richard Tighe "late of Ireland, but now of the City of 
New York," the brick house, with the lot No. 18, which was 
25 feet south of Sixteenth street; for the remainder of the 
term of years named in his lease. The price was $14,000. In 
1850 Richard Tighe bought from the heirs of Cornelius T. 
Williams, the reversion of the lease for the sum of $6,500, 
making his title in fee simple. This house is now No. 32 
Union Square. 

Richard Tighe was born in Ireland in 1806, and came to 
this city when 32 years of age. He was the second son of an 
Irish baronet and the title reverted to him, but it was one of 
his many eccentricities that he refused to accept it. For many 



i8 7 



EARLY NEW TORK HOUJEJ 



years he was a director in the Manhattan Fire Insurance 
Company. He was a man of learning, having been educated 
in Trinity College, Dublin. The house of which a view is 
given is said to have been one of the first two residences built 
on Union Square, and unlike all the rest, it has remained un- 
changed. Mr. Tighe married Miss Caroline Cheesebrough, 
and he was a brother-in-law of Robert I. Cheesebrough, Philip 
Kearny and Nicholas Stuyvesant. Mrs. Tighe died in 1891 
and Mr. Tighe continued to live in the old house, alone with 
his servants. He died as he had lived, a plain American, in 
May 1896, at the age of ninety, and his late residence is the 
last private dwelling on Union Square. 

The house on the north side of Sixteenth street was built 
by George A. Hearne about 1836, and was considered at the 
time one of the finest on Union Square. 




188 



No. 42. Friends' Meeting House and School. 




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FRIENDJ MEETING HOUJE AND iCHOOL, 
RUTHERFORD PLACE 

|n the latter part of the seventeenth century, 
several families of Quakers, mostly from 
Flushing, Long Island, took up their resi- 
dence in New York. At that time no religious 
societies except the Church of Kngland, had 
any official existence though all sects were tolerated. Places 
for worship were necessarily purchased in the names of private 
citizens who held the title with a tacit agreement that it was 
for the benefit of the religious society of which they formed a 
part. As early as 1696 several Quakers purchased a lot on 
the west side of " Green street," a narrow lane running from 
" Little Queen street," (now Liberty street), to Maiden lane, 
" Green street " is now Liberty place, and on the lot thus pur- 
chased they erected the first Friends meeting house in New 
York. The location was fifty feet south of Maiden lane. The 
ground around it was used as a burial place. In after years 
a new meeting house was built on the north side of Liberty 
street a little west of Liberty place. This remained till 1836, 



i 9 i 



EARLY NEW TORK HOUJEJ 



when it was sold to Grant Thorburn, whose reminiscences of 
his early life in New York, are valuable and interesting. The 
Friends, after this built meeting houses on Pearl street, Rose 
street and several other localities. The great schism between 
" Hicksites " and Orthodox Friends, affected the sect in this 
city as elsewhere. Blias Hicks, the founder of that branch 
known as Hicksites, was born in Hempstead, Long Island, the 
19th day of 3d month 1748. He was the son of John and 
Martha Hicks. In early manhood he became one of the most 
active and energetic preachers, which the society has ever 
known, and his travels extended wherever members of this 
sect could be found. He and his followers entertained certain 
views which soon made a complete separation between them 
and the " Orthodox." In some cases they erected separate 
places of worship. In several instances the original meeting 
house was divided, a partition separating the two portions. 
In New York an amicable division of property was made. At 
the present time the orthodox, diminished to a handful, wor- 
ship in a neat meeting house on Grammercy park. The 
Hicksites are far more numerous. Blias Hicks died at 
Jericho, Long Island, on the 27th day of 2d month 1830, and 
his remains rest in the burial ground, by the meeting house 
he built in that village. 

On June 30, 1860, Charles T. Bunting, sold to Robert R. 
Wiletts, Charles A. Macy and others, a lot which includes the 
entire front on Rutherford place, between 15th and 16th 
streets. The price was $65,000. It was held by them " in 
trust for the monthly meeting of the Society of Friends." 
Upon this tract they erected the meeting house and school 

192 



EARLY NEW TORK HOUiEi 

building of which a view is given, and are models of neat 
economy in building. 




i 9J 



No. 43. Dwellings of Famous Men of the Past. 





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DWELLING* OF FAMOUS MEN OF THE PA^ST 




HE group of views here presented are of interest 
chiefly from the fact that they were the resi- 
dences of famous men of a past generation, 
but whose names are all written on the rolls 
of fame. 

At No. 5 West 22d street is a massive brown-stone front 
mansion, one of several built at the same time and in the 
same style. A marble tablet in front informs the passer-by 
that in this house Prof. Samuel F. Morse, the inventor of the 
telegraph, lived for many years, and died here, April 2, 1872. 
At the present time (April, 1900), this interesting relic of the 
past the home of one of the greatest inventors that ever 
lived, is in process of destruction, and will be superseded by 
a larger building for business purposes. 

Nos. 22-24 Greenwich street are relics of a time when 
that locality was one of the most aristocratic portions of the 
city. The former was once the home of Moses Taylor, a 
merchant prince owner of steamship lines and foremost among 
the business men of this great city. The latter was the 



197 



EARLY NEW TORK HOUJEj 

dwelling place of Henry Suydam, one of the wealthiest " blue 
bloods " of the city, with an ancestry stretching back to the 
days of New Amsterdam. These houses retain much of their 
original elegance, as seen in the quaint doors and beautifully 
wrought newel posts. No. 24 is now occupied by a Swedish 
Protective Society and the entire neighborhood is inhabited 
by foreigners. 

No. 21 Stuyvesant street was once the house of Col. 
Nicholas Fish, a brave officer in the army of the Revolution. 
A fortunate marriage with a member of the Stuyvesant family 
made him and his descendants wealthy. The house was once 
surrounded by beautiful gardens, but this has long since 
given place to "flat houses" and stores. The front remains 
the same as it was in 1824, when Lafayette was entertained 
with lavish hospitality. 

In No. 436 West 22d once lived the famous actor, Edwin 
Forest. Here with his wife, Katharine Sinclair, a beautiful 
English woman, he dwelt for many years, while at the summit 
of his fame. At his receptions he entertained many of 
the most distinguished men of his day, unthinking of the 
domestic unhappiness that made wretched his later years. 

At No. 48 Rose Street once lived James Harper, one of 
the famous family of publishers and who was mayor of the 
city from 1844 to 1847. The house was built about 1840, and 
is one of the very few old-time houses now left on that street, 
and it is sadly changed from its former respectability. The 
basement is now a saloon. The two lamps, which are always 
put in front of the mayor's house, have long since disappeared, 
but the place where they once stood can readily be seen. 

198 



EARLY NEW YOR.K. HOUJEI 

The home of Peter Cooper, the famous philanthropist 
to whom New York is indebted for one of its greatest public 
buildings ; now far removed from its original site, stands on 
the southeast corner of Fourth avenue and 28th street. It 
was built at the beginning of the century and occupied the 
place where the Cooper Institute now stands. It was carefully 
removed to its present locality in 1820. 




-o-a-a.— *"».— ' 



'99 



No. 44. Asbury Methodist Episcopal Church. 




AIBURY METHODIJT EPISCOPAL CHURCH 




hkn the old South Dutch Church in Garden 
street, (now Exchange place), was destroyed 
in the great fire of 1835, the congregation 
divided into two parts. One of them retained 
the old name and built a church on Murray 
street. This congregation is now the Old South Dutch Church 
on Madison avenue. The other part purchased lots on the 
east side of Washington square, and here they built a church 
known as the "Dutch Reformed Church on Washington 
Square." For many years this was one of the principal 
churches in the city and had a large and wealthy congrega- 
tion. In later years they were scattered to various parts of 
New York, and the church as an organization ceased to exist. 
In 1876 the church edifice was sold to the " Greene street 
Methodist Episcopal Church." For several years it was one 
of the most prominent churches of that denomination. The 
name was changed to the "Asbury Methodist Episcopal 
Church " in honor of a former bishop. The same causes that 
led to the disorganization of the former congregation operated 

203 



EARLY NE.W YORK. HOUJEJ 

in this case. Change of population and removal to other por- 
tions of the city reduced the church to a very small number 
of members, and it was deemed advisable to dispose of the 
church property and unite with the Methodist church on 
Fourth street. This was done and the church and lot was 
sold to Boehm & Coon, and the edifice that had so long 
been an ornament to the city was taken down in the summer 
of 1895 and a large business building erected in its place. It 
stood on the southeast corner of Washington Square and 
Washington place, opposite the University of the City of 
New York. 

Upon a tablet over the main entrance was the following 

inscription : 

Asbury 

M. E. Church 

Formerly of Greene Street. 

Organized A. D. 1831. 

Removed to this Building 

April A. D. 1876. 

"The best of all is 

God is with us." 

J. Wesley. 




204 



No. 45. West Side Broadway, opposite Bowling Green. 




BR.OADWAT, WEiT JIDE, OPPOSITE, 
BOWLING ORJiEN. 




|his row of houses, No. 1 to No. 11 Broadway, 
are interesting from the fact that the history 
of these lots goes back to the very earliest 
days of New Amsterdam. The houses them- 
selves have all disappeared and two immense 
buildings are now seen in their place. Through the kindness 
of Mr. Edward F. DeLancy we are able to present this view. 

No. 1 was owned in the earliest days by a Dutch settler 
named Pieter Koeck, who left it to his wife, Anatje, and her 
name was Anglicized into Ann Cox. She afterward married 
Lodowyck Post. The early records mention that once when a 
vessel arrived from Europe the captain found the Governor 
" attending a wedding at the house of the widow Cox," from 
which we conclude that she was a member of " high society." 
It was afterwards purchased by Frederick Phillipse, the rich 
merchant of earliest New York, and was bought from his heirs 
by Abraham De Peyster. When it came into his possession 
there were on the lot " an old decayed messuage," and in their 

toy 



E.AR.LT NEW TOR-K HOU-SEi 

place lie erected " several small dwelling houses." He sold 
the whole to Archibald Kennedy, August 26, 1756, and he 
built the " Kennedy mansion," which was one of the finest 
houses in the city at the time of the Revolution. It was at a 
later day the property of Nathaniel Prime, a wealthy banker, 
and belonged to his family at the time the view was taken. 

No. 3 was originally the home of Capt. Martin Cregier, 
who in 1660 was one of the burgomasters. About the middle 
of the last century it was purchased by Archibald Kennedy, 
who was afterward Earl of Cassilis. He left it to his daughter 
Catharine, who married Dr. Jonathan Mallett. He and his 
children sold the place to John Watts, Esq., June 25, 1792, 
and he probably built the house seen in the engraving. It 
remained in his family till recent years. John Watts paid for 
the house and lot /2,000 or $5,000. 

No. 5 in earliest Dutch times was owned by Jacobus 
Backer, who sold it to Jacob De Lange, " of Amsterdam in 
Europe," September, 1659. The deed describes it as " a House 
and lot west of the Heere Street, bounded south by the newly 
built house and lot of Worshipful Burgomaster Martin Cregier, 
west by the strand of the North River, north by the house and 
lot of Dominie Johanes Megapolensis, east by the street." In 
the early part of the last century it was owned by Abraham 
Lodge, a noted man of affairs. He died in 1758, and left it to 
his daughter Catharine, who in turn left it to a relative, John 
Weatherhead, a merchant, and unfortunately for him a tory, 
at the time of the Revolution. The property was confiscated 
and sold to Robert R. Livingston, April 15, 1784, for ^450 or 
$1,125. He built the mansion seen in the engraving, and it 

208 



EARLY NEW TORK HOUjE.5 

remained in the possession of his descendants till recent times. 

No. 7 is one of the very few pieces of property for which 
there is an unbroken chain of record title from the original 
" Ground Brief" or grant from the Dutch government down to 
the present time. On July 2, 1643, it was granted by the 
Director General to Jacob Jacobsen Rooz. He built a house, 
and sold it to Abraham Ver Planck, August 13, 1649. He in 
turn sold it to Dirck Bensinck " of Fort Orange " (now Albany), 
April 15, 1651. He sold it to Rev. Johanes Megapolensis, 
" minister of the Holy Gospel here," May 3, 1655. The rev- 
erend clergyman sold it to Cornelius Van Ruyven, " Secretary 
and Receiver of the Hon. West India Company," March 10, 
1663, and he conveyed it to Gabriel Minveille (who was after- 
wards mayor of the city), June 10, 1672. Gabriel Minveille 
died in 1697. His widow, Susannah, married Capt. William 
Smith, and the heirs sold the place to him January 13th, 1706. 

It descended to his grandson Wm. Peartree Smith, and 
he sold the place to Mary Alexander the widow of James 
Alexander a famous man in his day. Mrs. Alexander left 
children ; William Alexander, known as Earl of Stirling, and 
a brave general in the Revolution, Mary wife of Peter Van 
Brugh Livingston, Catherine wife of Walter Rutherford, 
Susanah, and Elizabeth wife of John Stevens. No family of 
that time was more noted or more respectable. Mr. Stevens 
purchased the place from the rest of the heirs March 30, 1761, 
and at a later date he built the mansion of which a view is 
given. It remained in his family till 1821 when it was sold to 
Wm. Edgar and it has been in his possession of his descend- 
ants till recent years. 

209 



EARLT NEW TORK. HOUjEVj 



Nos. 9 and 11 were originally one lot and first owned by 
Jacob Jacobsen Rooz, wbo sold it to Abraham Ver Planck 
and be conveyed it to Rev. Jobannes Megapolensis. Before 
1690 it was owned by Jacobus Bayard and descended from him 
to his son Jacobus, and his grandson Balthazar Bayard. 
They built the large double house which was standing till 
recent times. About 1720 it was mortgaged to Augustus Jay, 
and the principal and interest amounted to ^600 ($1,500) 
"which is more than the value of the premises." Balthazar 
Bayard sold the whole to Augustus Jay in payment of the 
debt June 28, 1728. He left it to his three daughters Mary 
Valette, Frances Van Cortlandt and Judith Van Horn. The 
last died and her share was conveyed to the other sisters. 
Mary Valette sold her share to John Chambers, a noted law- 
yer in his day. The lot was divided and he took the north 
part, Frances Van Cortlandt having the south half. The 
whole afterwards came in possession of Augustus Van Cort- 
landt and his brother James, the north part eventually coming 
in possession of Mrs. Eve White a sister of Augustus Van 
Cortlandt, and the whole remained in the hands of the de- 
scendants of the Van Cortlandts till modern times. In 1848 
the place, somewhat changed from its original form, was a 
noted place of entertainment known as the "Atlantic Gardens." 
The statement that this place was the tavern, known in form- 
er days as " Burns' Coffee House " is an error which deserves 
correction. 




ORIGINAL VIEW OF NOS. 9 AND II BROADWAY. 
ZIO 



EARLY NEW YORK HOVSES 
WITH HISTORICAL 0^ GEN- 
EALOGICAL NOTES BY- — — 
WILLIAM S.PELLETREAV,A.M. 
PHOTOGRAPHS OFOLDHOVSES 
C-ORIGINAL ILLVSTRATIONSBY 
C.G.NIOLLER .JR. vvy y y y y y y y 




IN TEN PARTS 
PART X 



FRANCIS P. HARPER, PVBLIS HER 
NEW YORK A-D.jQOO^ v ^^^^ 




EDITION 
3OO COPIES^ 
2S JAPAN PAPE-R 



Copyrighted 1900 by 
Francis P. Harper 



No. 46. Five Points in i860. 




THE: "FIVE POINTS" IN 1660 




HE region known by the above name is a part of 
what was known in the early days of New 
York as the "Kingston Tract." Of the 
streets laid out upon it, one was called " Little 
Water street" (now Mission Place), from the 
fact that the lots fronting upon it were bounded on the west 
by the " Fresh Water Pond." This short street runs due 
north and south. Another was called "Anthony street " (now 
Worth street), while a third was named " Cross street " (now 
Park street. These three streets enclosed a triangular tract. 
Little Water street extended into the middle of a block, and 
from these streets and corners the region was called the "Filye 
Points." The triangular tract was covered with houses of the 
cheapest kind, inhabited by the vilest class of inhabitants. 
They were owned by wealthy citizens who never lived in 
them. Their homes were in the aristocratic neighborhoods of 
lower Broadway and Fulton street. Edward Livingston, at 
one time, mayor of the city, owned twenty-one houses in this 
vicinity in 1803. In 1834, the triangular tract was purchased 

213 



EAR.LT NEW YOR-K HOU.SE.S 



by the city and all the buildings removed, and the open space 
thus made is now known as " Paradise Park," probably from 
the fact that it is as unlike Paradise as anything can possibly 
be. The streets surrounding it still retain their original 
character. Vice and crime in all their phases run full riot 
there. For those who had the morbid desire to see wickedness 
with its accompanying misery, the Five Points was the place 
to go. The Ladies' Home Missionary Society was organized 
in 1844, and to redeem this part of the city was its earliest 
aim. On Cross street, opposite Little Water street, was a 
collection of tumble down buildings known as the " Old 
Brewery," erected by Isaac Coulthard at the beginning of the 
century. It was the resort of the most dangerous classes and 
riot and murder were of frequent occurrence. In 1852, the 
premises were sold to a committee representing the Society. 
The " Old Brewery " was demolished and on its site was 
erected, in 1853, the " Five Points Mission House," and no 
building ever erected in New York has been productive of 
greater good. This building remained till 1894, when it was 
torn down and replaced by the present building on a much 
larger scale for the same beneficent purpose. When Abraham 
Lincoln made his first visit to New York, in 1860, he visited 
the mission school on Sunday and made an address to the 
scholars. 

In the view, the spectator is looking east on "Anthony" 
street, now Worth street. 



»i 4 



No. 47. Static Street in Early Times. 




un^BSSmatBSts6&SusSBs3m 




STATE. STREET 

HE view represents the east side of State street 
south of Bowling green, and has been kindly 
furnished by Mr. Edward F. De Lancey. The 
most prominent building is the end view of 
the mansion erected by Stephen Whitney, 
and in its day one of the most elegant and stately residences 
in the city. As the houses fronting on Bowling Green were 
all built and occupied by wealthy and distinguished families, 
they were known by the popular name of " Quality Row," and 
of these mansions that of Stephen Whitney was, for size and 
location, decidedly the best. One of its peculiarities was that 
the windows were made of tinted glass imported from Europe, 
and considered something extremely elegant. Some of the 
window panes still remained when the house was torn down 
in the spring of 1900. In the rear of the Whitney mansion 
was an elegant garden, a glimpse of which is shown. In 
recent years when " Quality Row " ceased to be a residence 
locality, the land became far too valuable for gardens, and two 
or three buildings were erected and occupied as steamship 



217 



EVARLT NEW TORK HOUjEJ 

agencies and boarding houses for emigrants. The second 
house seen in the view stands on lot No. 8 of the " Govern- 
ment House Lots." The lot was purchased by Abijah 
Weston, and was sold by him to James D. Wolfe, and he 
built the house. Lot No. 9 was also purchased by Abijah 
Weston, but seems to have remained vacant for some years. 
It passed through several hands and in 1828 it was sold by 
the United States Marshal, to satisfy a judgment, to Daniel 
Webster, " of the Town of Boston," a name not unknown in 
our country's annals. This was the only lot that the great 
orator ever owned in this city, and he did not own it long for 
he sold it to Thomas William Ludlow in 1829, and he erected 
the house upon it. In 1832 it was bought by Joseph P. 
Phoenix. The third house seen was built and owned by 
Robert Lenox. All these houses were very desirable as 
residences, as they fronted on the Battery, which was then as 
favorite a resort for pleasant walks and conversation as 
Central park is at the present time. All three of these houses 
were torn down many years ago, and buildings better adapted 
for business erected in their place. 




218 



No. 48. Broad Street in 1796. 




BKOAD .STREET IN 1796 



w^tskstifc^tw *£ 




HE engraving presents a view of what is now 
the most valuable land on the American Con- 
tinent and of buildings that have long since 
^ disappeared. The tract on both sides of 
Broad street was, in Dutch times, known as 
the " Schaape Waytie," or " Sheep Pasture." The canal that 
once extended almost to Wall street was called the " Heer 
Gracht," or " Princes Graft," and its filling up in later years 
made Broad street worthy of its name. A very wide lot on 
both sides of the street was granted to Rev. Samuel Drissius, 
the Dutch minister, and the titles trace back to his heirs. 

The entire tract is shown on the west side, from Wall 
street to what was called in the Dutch times, Verlattenbergh 
street (or Barkhill street), so-called from piles of bark used in 
a tannery, which was there in very early days. This was 
corrupted into " Flatten barracks," and is now Exchange 
place. A brief sketch of these houses will be given. No. 2, 
at the corner of Wall street, was in the early part of the 
seventeenth century owned by Wm. Smith, " merchant." His 



EARLY NEW YORK HOUJEVJ 



son, Wm. Peartree Smith, sold it to Nathaniel McKinley, 
July 24, 1759, for /200. The ancient deeds describe it as 
16 feet 8 inches wide, and 30 feet long, " Dutch measure," or 
15 feet 4 inches wide and 27 feet 6 inches long, English 
measure. The heirs of McKinley sold it to the city of New 
York, May 19, 1796, for /800, or $2,000. Nos. 4-6 was a 
wide lot with two houses, and in 1796 was owned by George 
Walgrove. The lot was 42 feet 5 inches wide. His heirs sold 
the whole to Christopher Heiser in 1825, for $12,100. No. 8 
was owned by Anthony La Tour, " hair dresser," whose name 
and occupation show his French origin. He sold it in 1800 
to John Shatzel, for $2,950. 

Nos. 10-12 were two lots and houses, which in 1791 were 
sold by Thomas Barrow, " limner," to Dr. James Tillary, 
Robert Lenox, James Renwick, Rev. John Mason, D.D. and 
ten others, all of Scotch ancestry, and they organized as 
St. Andrew's Society. One of the lots extended to New street. 
They sold the whole to George Douglass, Jr., in 1794 for /2,700, 
or $6,750. No. 14 was sold by David Sandford, " cordwainer," 
to David Coutant, " turner," 1773. He seems to have owned 
it in 1796. The price he paid was ;£"350. The h ouse was 
probably a very small one. No. 16 was the home of John 
Morrin Scott, famous in Revolutionary days. He sold it to 
John King in 1760. He sold it to James A. Stewart, 1793, 
for /700. 

No. 18 was owned by Luke John Kierstede, and he sold 
it to LeMontes Noe, in 1793, for /1.175, or $2,937. This is 
the large house seen in the engraving with the four characters 
like an S near the top. His daughter, Helen Noe, sold it to 



EARLT NEW TOR-K. HOIUEJ 



Jacob Binniger in 1833, for $20,000. No. 22 was the house of 
Peter Wilson, Professor of Languages in Columbia College. 
He sold it to Charles Clarkson, 1798. No. 24 was owned by 
Nicholas Evertson. In 1798 it was sold to Frederick De 
Peyster, for ^"1,550. 

No. 26 was also Nicholas Evertson's. His executors sold 
it to Hon. David Gelston in 1808. No. 28 was owned by Jacob 
Lorillard. 

The view on the east side of the street presents only a 
few houses, about half way between Exchange place and 
Beaver street. The first house (opposite the pump), is No. 39. 
This in 1796 was the home of Coenrad W. Ham, " baker." 
His son, Wandel Ham, purchased it on a partition suit in 
1806 for $8,750, and sold it in 1810 to John N. Luff," baker," 
for $11,000, No. 41, the Dutch house, bearing the date, 
1698, was built by Jacobus Quick. It remained in possession 
of his family and was standing in 1840. No. 43 was the house 
of Nicholas N. Anthony, "tanner." He sold it in 1799 to 
Robert Dunn, " mariner," for $2,433. No. 45 in early days 
was the home of Wm. Bogardus, son of Rev. Everardus 
Bogardus (husband of the famous Anake Jans) ; but the house 
was evidently built at a much later date. In 1796 it seems to 
have been owned by Wm. Brown. No. 47, the last house seen 
in the view, was also owned by Jacobus Quick. 

At the head of the engraving is seen a very fine view of 
the old Federal Hall. The clock spire is that of the First 
Presbyterian Church on Wall street. 

For the view accompanying this article we are indebted 
to Mr. Gustav H. Schwab. <*£.-> \ 

t& ^ 



«f 




NO. 20-22 BROAD STREET, 1S90. "tl'A 



No. 49. Entrance to Brooklyn Bridge, 1857. 




ENTRANCE TO BROOKLYN BRIDGE IN 1657 



i^ i «iiiftf<8wM'W *5« 




HE picture here given presents a very accurate 
appearance of the east side of Chatham street 
(now Park Row), in long past days. The land 
upon which these squalid and dilapidated build- 
ings stood is a part of the farm owned in early 
times by the famous and ill-fated Jacob Leisler, whose career 
and tragic fate forms one of the most interesting and thrilling 
episodes of our city history. Liquor saloons of the lowest 
order, and cheap and second-hand clothing formed the principal 
part of the mercantile transactions of that neighborhood. The 
picture of the man bearing the placard " Beware of Mock 
Auctions," recalls a scheme for defrauding the ignorant and 
unwary, which was very common at that time. Auction rooms 
were fitted up and loud-voiced auctioneers, ably assisted by 
" stool-pigeons," would offer elegant gold watches and jewelry 
for almost any sum that might be bid. The affair would be 
conducted with apparent honesty and the customer was 
allowed to examine the article (which would be a genuine gold 
watch of the finest kind), as carefully as he wished. His bid 



■2.1"] 



EAR.LT NEW TOR.K. HOU.SE.S 



would be taken, but in the mean time there would be substi- 
tuted a very cheap gilded article and the customer soon had 
an opportunity to know that " all is not gold that glitters." 
So great became this nuisance that a special Act of Legislature 
was passed to abolish " mock auctions." 



Jones street derives its name from Dr. Gardiner Jones, a 
native of Southampton, Long Island, who by a fortunate 
marriage with Sarah, daughter of Elbert Haring became the 
owner of a large part of what is known as the Haring, or 
Herring farm. He opened Jones street in 1794, and lots 
readily sold at fair prices for those days, but would now be 
considered extremely low. Cheap tenements, intended and 
fitted for cheap tenants, were erected, and No. 10 Jones street 
is one of the very few yet remaining. This was for years the 
home of a singular individual, Louis Catheman. He was a 
Swiss by birth, but came to this country in early youth. He 
took an active part in the war of the Rebellion and as a 
member of the First Minnesota Regiment was in seventeen 
battles and twice wounded. In late years his only business 
was selling portraits of actors and actresses from the steps of 
Jefferson Market Police Court. He afterwards returned to his 
native Alps and died there. 



The "ramshackle house," No. 70 Vandam street, stands 
on the land of Trinity church and in sensational newspapers, 
is occasionally held up to view as a sample of " Trinity Church 

228 



BAR.LT NEW TORK. HOU^Ej 



as a landlord," wilfully ignoring the fact that these unsightly 
relics of the past are being replaced as rapidly as possible by 
buildings better adapted to the wants of modern times. We 
present this simply as a view of a class of tenements that will 
soon be utterly unknown. 



The old house, No. 11 Reade street, is credited with 
having once been the residence of Aaron Burr, though even in 
its best days it must have presented a very marked contrast 
to his elegant home on Richmond Hill. It stands in close 
proximity to the site of the old Manhattan water works, which 
Burr was so active in promoting. This ancient house was 
torn down in 1899 to make way for the new Register's office. 




229 



No. 50. Union Theological Seminary, University Place. 




UNION THEOLOGICAL iEMINAKY ON UNIVEK- 

JITY PLACE 



|he land on both sides of University place, from 
Waverley place to where the Presbyterian 
church now stands, is a part of the large tract 
belonging to the Sailors' Snug Harbor and 
nobly dedicated by its former owner Captain 



IPpE 


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Randall, for the support of aged and enfeebled seamen. On 
October 20, 1831, the trustees of this institution leased to 
James R. Manley, four lots, 127 feet north of Waverley place. 
The street on which they fronted was originally Wooster 
street, being the continuation of the street of that name. It 
was afterwards widened and called "Jackson avenue,'' but 
after the University of the City of New York was built, the 
name was changed to University place. The lots above were 
transferred to Wm. M. Halstead and he conveyed them to the 
Union Theological Seminary, October 30, 1852. For many 
years this was the headquarters of theological learning and 
from its walls were graduated men whose names are famous 
for learning, eloquence and piety. In after years the institu- 



*33 



EARLT NEW TORK HOUJEi 

tion was moved to another locality and for a while the building 
was used as a teachers' college. 

At the present time it remains unoccupied and the sign 
" To Let " shows that it will soon be devoted to business of a 
secular nature. The building and the leasehold still belong 
to the Union Theological Seminary, though the institution 
has long since removed to the upper part of the city. 




234 



w w INDEX 



PAGE 

Abingdon, Earl of 183 

Alexander, James 178, 209 

Alexander, Wm 154, 209 

Anderson, Elbert 159 

Anderson, Isabella 164 

Anderson, James 56 

Anderson, John W 56 

Anthony, Nicholas N 223 

Anthorpe Lane 124 

Anthorpe Mansion 123 

Anthorpe, Chas. Ward 123 

Arcularius, Christina 164 

Arcularius, Phillip J 164 

Arden, Thomas 168 

Asbury M. E. Church 203 

Astor Place 9 

Atlantic Gardens 210 

Backer, Jacobus 208 

Bandits' Roost 168 

Baptist Church, Fayette Street ... 29 

Bar Association 56 

Barclay, Henry 153 

Barrow, Thomas 222 

Barselon, Victor 178 

Baxter, Lieut. Col. Charles 168 

Bayard, Balthazar 210 

Bayard, Jacobus 210 

Bayard, Samuel 22 

Bayard, Samuel Ill 

Bebell, David 73 

Beekman Farm 45 

Beekman, Magdalena 93 

Beekman, Wm 163 

Bees, John 1 

Belmont, August vii-, 98 

Belmont Mansion 97 



PAGE 

Bensinck, Dirck 209 

Benson, Robt 38 

Benton, Thos. H 127 

Berrien, John 148 

Binniger, Jacob 223 

Black, Mary 158 

Blackwell, Joseph 159 

Bleecker, Anthony L 87, 148, 173 

Bloomer, Elisha 173 

Boehm & Coon 204 

Bogardus, Rev. Everardus 223 

Bogardus, William 223 

Bond Street, Houses on 49 

Booth, Edwin 94 

Bottle Alley 168, 169 

Bowery Lane 67 

Bowling Green Houses 157 

Brasher, Philip 103 

Broad Street, (1796) 221 

Brown, Noah 158, 159 

Brown, Samuel 25 

Brown, William 223 

Browne, George ("Malster"). . . 13 

Bruce, George L 154 

Bruce, Mary 154 

Bruce, Peter 154 

Bruce, Robert W 154 

Bruce, William W 154 

Buchanan, Thos 21 

Bunting, Charles T 192 

Burdell, Dr. Harvey 49 

Burke, Miles R 104 

Burling, Thomas 81 

Burns' Coffee House 210 

Burr, Aaron 59, 148, 228 

Butts, Daniel 163 



237 



N DEX 



PAGE 

Buys, Matthew 9 

Byers, James 159 

Carman, John 29 

Carthagene, Francisco 9 

Catheman, Louis 227 

Chambers, John 210 

Chauncey, Wm 89 

Cheesebrough, Caroline 188 

Cheesebrough, Robert 1 188 

Cheever, Anna D 83 

Cheever, John H 83 

Church of the Messiah • 131 

Church of the Strangers 143 

Cingle (Street) 13 

Clarendon Hotel 67 

Clarke, Charity 33 

Clarke, Major Thomas 33 

Clarkson, Charles 223 

Class, Samuel 1 

Cliff Street 29 

Cliff Street, No. 28 163 

Clinton, De Witt 38, 139 

Clinton, George 38 

Clopper, Cornelius 177 

Clyff , Dirck Vander 163 

Collect Lots 1 

Collect (Pond) 1 

Collect Street 2 

Colonnade Houses 173 

Columbia College 223 

Commercial Insurance Co 14 

Cooper, Ann L 154 

Cooper, Dr. Gerardus A 154 

Cooper, Peter 199 

Cooper Institute 199 

Cornelia Street, Old Houses on . . . 73 

Coulthard, Isaac 214 

Coulthard, Susannah 55 

Coulthard, Wm 55 

Coutant, Charles 93 

Coutant, David 222 

Coutant, John H 93 

Cowman, Augustus T ...... . 82 

Cowman, John 82 

Cowman, John 81 



PAGE 

Cox, Ann 207 

Cox, William 14 

Cregier, Captain Martin 208 

Crook, Ramsay 127 

Cunningham, Emma Augusta .... 49 

Currie, John 119 

De Grove, Peter 22 

De Kay, Helena 118 

De Kay, Jacobus 118 

De Kay, Johanes 118 

De Kay, Tennis 118 

De Lancey, Ann Allida 78 

De Lancey, Edward F 207, 217 

De Lancey, Jane Josepha 78 

De Lancey, John 78 

De Lancey, Oliver 111,183 

De Lancey, Stephen Ill 

De Lange, Jacob 208 

De Meyer, Nicholas 30 

De Peyster, Abraham 207 

Deems, Rev. Dr. Chas 143 

Denning, Wm 14 

Dickey, George 178 

Dimmock, Andrew 164 

Dimmock, Selina E 164 

Dion, Count de 112 

Dodge, Samuel 29 

Dongan, Gov. Thomas 13 

Douglass, George, Jr 222 

Douglas, Stephen A 127 

Drissius, Rev. Samuel 221 

Dubois, Cornelius 159 

Dunn, Robert 223 

Duryee, Charles 119 

Eagle Fire Insurance Co 154 

Earle, Gen. Ferdinand P 149 

East River Mutual Insurance Co. . . 73 

Eaton, John 140 

Eaton, Mary 140 

Eckel, John 1 49 

Eden's Alley 30 

Edgar, Wm 209 

Edmonds, Samuel 29 

Ely, Smith 173 

Episcopal Theological Seminary . . 34 



238 



1 N DE.X 



PAGE 

Everdell, Wm. K 179 

Evertson, Nicholas 223 

Faile, Thomas H 82 

Fayette Street 30 

Ferris, Charles G 174 

Field, Hickson W 107 

Fish, Col. Nicholas 198 

Fish, Whitehead 184 

Five Points in 1860 213 

Fleet, Margaret M 164 

Fleet, Oliver S 164 

Forrest, Edwin .... 198 

Foy, Michael 148 

Frances, Linn 1 

Francis, Samuel Ill 

Franklin, Anthony 164 

Franklin, Hannah 38 

Franklin Square 37 

Franklin, Walter 38 

Franks, Jacob 177 

Fraunces, Elizabeth 112 

Fraunces, Samuel 121 

Fraunces' Tavern Ill 

French Huguenot Church 119 

French, Philip Ill 

French, Col. Richard 44 

French, Thomas 44 

French's Hotel 44 

Fresh Water Pond 1 

Friends Meeting House 191 

Fulton, Harriet 158 

Fulton, Robert 158 

Fulton Fire Insurance Co 22 

Furman, Garrit 139 

Galilee, Ann 56 

Galilee, Elizabeth 55 

Galilee, Matthew 55 

Garden Street 43 

Gardener, John 112 

Gardiner, John Lyon 88 

Gardiner, Sarah Diodati 88 

Gardiner, Thomas 112 

Geib, Adam 135 

Geib, Conrad 135 

Gelston, Hon. David 223 



PAGE 

Gemmell House 153 

Gemmell, James 154 

German Lutheran Church 44 

Gerry, Commodore Elbridge T. . . . 69 

Gerry, Thomas R 68 

Gihan, Elizabeth 97 

Gihan, John 97 

Gilsey House 66 

Gilsey, Peter 56 

Goelet, Hannah 68 

Goelet Mansion 67 

Goelet, Peter 68 

Golden Eagle Inn 93 

Golden Hill 29 

Gomez, Lewis 177 

Gouverneur, Isaac 118 

Gouverneur, Samuel L 103 

Government House 117 

Government House Lots 158 

Great Jones Street 74 

Greentzbach, John W 56 

Greentzbach, Margaret 56 

Greer, George 56 

Greer, Julia 56 

Grenzebach, John N 44 

Grim, David. Sketch by 179 

Grim, Otto 9 

Griswold, Sarah Johnson 82 

Guggenheimer, Randolph 108 

Haaghoort, Rev. Gerardus 118 

Haight, Richard K 97 

Hale, Nathan 123 

Halstead, Wm. M 231 

Ham, Coenrad 223 

Ham, Wandel 223 

Hammond, Abijah 183 

Haring, Elbert 227 

Haring, Sarah 227 

Harper, James 198 

Harper, James Philip 164 

Harper, Samuel B 164 

Harperdingh, John 177 

Harvey, John 153 

Haydock, Henry 164 

Hearne, George A 188 



239 



INDEX 



PAGE 

Hebrew Synagogue 177 

Heiser, Christopher 222 

Herring, Elbert 9, 173 

Herring Farm 9, 73, 87, 93, 107 

Herring, Nicholas 173 

Heyward, Henry 83 

Hicks, Elias 192 

Higgins, Maria 10 

Higgins, Wm 10 

Hone, John 159 

Hone, Philip 174 

Hopkins, Theodore 148 

Houston, Samuel 127 

Howland, Gardiner G 81 

Hubble, Isaac 118 

Hubert Street 17 

Hudson Street 25 

Hutson, Wm 1 

Jans, Amake 223 

Jay, Augustus 210 

Jones, Cornelia 73 

Jones, Dr. Gardiner 73, 227 

Jones, Isaac 43 

Jones, Sarah 73 

Jones Street 74 

Jones, Samuel 10, 17, 73 

Jumel, "Madame" 148 

Jumel Mansion 147 

Jumel, Stephen 148 

Junet, Edward 25 

Kalck Hook Pond 1 

Kelby, William v 

Kearney, Philip 188 

Kennedy, Archibald 208 

Kent, John 1 

Kenyon, Wm 148 

Kerfbyl, Katherine 177 

Kettletas, Malvina 112 

Kidd, Capt. House of 13 

Kidd, Capt. Wm 14 

Kierstede, Luke John 222 

King, John 222 

Kingston, John 167 

Kip, Isaac E 127 

Kip, Luke 107 



PAGE 

Koeck, Pieter 207 

Kortright, John 68 

Labagh, Abraham 119 

Lafayette Place 9, 87 

Lamb, Capt. John 118 

Lancelot, Samuel 178 

Langham, Wm 25 

Lasher, Capt. John 119 

Lasher, John B 119 

La Tour, Anthony 222 

Le Roy, Jacob 77 

Le Roy Place 77 

Ledyard, Isaac 148 

Leffingwell, Wm 21 

Leisler, Jacob 43, 103, 226 

Leland Bros 128 

Lenox, Robert 159, 218, 222 

Levy, Jacob, Jr 119 

Lewis, Caroline F 174 

Lispenard, Anthony 17 

Lispenard Farm 17, 25 

Livingston, Edward .... 167, 169, 213 

Livingston, Gerard Wm 93 

Livingston, Mary 209 

Livingston, Peter Van Brugh .... 209 

Livingston, Robert R 208 

Lodge, Abraham 208 

London Gate 131 

Long Island Miscellanies 140 

Lorillard, Catharine 82 

Lorillard, Elenora 82 

Lorillard, George 1, 2 

Lorillard, Jacob 223 

Lorillard, Spencer 82 

Ludlow, Thomas William 218 

Luff, John N 223 

McCall, James 83 

McCarthy, Jane 112 

McCormick, Daniel 21 

McKeever, Gen. Chauncey 89 

McKinley, Nathaniel 222 

McNeil, John 44 

McNeil, Samuel 78 

Macy, Charles A 192 

Mallett, Dr. Jonathan 208 



240 



INDEX 



PAGB 

Mallows, David H 183 

Mandeville, Yellis 9 

Manhattan Bank 60 

Manhattan Water Co 59 

Manhattan Waterworks 228 

Manley, James R 231 

Marander, John 1 

Mariners Temple 30 

Marketfield Street 117 

Mason, Rev. John 222 

Maspeth, I/Ong Island 139 

Maspeth Poems 140 

Mead Gabriel 89 

Megapolensis, Johanes . . . 208, 209, 210 

Melyn, Jacob 177 

Merchants Exchange 21 

Mercer Street Presbyterian Church 143 

Merrill, Andrew 164 

Metropolitan Hotel 127 

Miner, Julia C 68 

Miner, Dr. Wm 68 

Minthorne, Philip 167 

Minveille, Gabriel 209 

Moller, Jr., C. G VII., 140 

"Monkey Hill" 5 

Monroe, James 103 

Monroe, President James House . . 103 

Moon, John 174 

Moore, Bishop Benj 33 

Moore, Clement C 33 

Moore, John S 112 

Morgan, Matthew 107 

Morris, Gen. George P 124 

Morris, Robert R 38 

Morris, Col, Roger 147, 149 

Morse Blaize 56 

Morse, Prof. Samuel F 197 

Mott, Jacob 167 

Mulberry Bend 167 

Napoleon's Grave 140 

Negroes' Burying Ground 154 

New York Hotel 107 

New York Tribune 45 

New York World 44, 56 

Niblo's Garden 127 



PAGE 

Niblo, Wm 127 

Nicoll, Edward 119 

Nicoll, Dr. Samuel 55 

" Night Before Christmas House " . 33 

Niven, Daniel 118 

Noe, Helen 222 

Noe, Le Montes 222 

Oakley, Charles 73 

Old Brewery 214 

Oliver Street Baptist Church .... 30 

O'Neil, Felix % 168 

Osgood, Samuel ......... 38, 39 

Otis, Adelia L 98 

Pacheco, Rodrigo 177 

Parish, Henry 178 

Parker, James Ill 

Parkinson, Leonard 148 

Partridge, Charles 63 

Partridge, Eliza Ann 50 

Partridge, Sophronia 63 

Pearson, Isaac G 77 

Penfold, Edwin 82 

Perego, Margaret 164 

Perry, Matthew C 98 

Peters, Solomon 9 

Pickett, Wm. S 63 

Pierson, Isaac 118 

Post, Lodowyck 207 

Pott, Stephen 97 

Powers, George 112 

Phillipse, Frederick 118, 207 

Phillipse, Mary 147 

Phoenix, Joseph P 218 

Prime, Nathaniel 208 

Produce Exchange 118, 119 

Provost, David 14, 177 

Pulitzer, Joseph 44 

Queen's Head Inn 112 

Quick, Jacobus 223 

Quinn, Patrick 169 

Randall, Capt 231 

Rankin, Andrew 1 

Remson, Peter 159 

Remsen, Dr. Robert G 82 

Renwick, James 222 



241 



INDEX 



PAGE 

Ring, Cornelius 56 

Roberts, Marshall 99 

Robinson, Col. Beverly .... Ill, 147 

Romaine, Dr. Nicholas 112 

Roosevelt, Jacobus 22 

Rooz, Jacob Jacobsen 209 

Rosevelt, Cornelius C 93 

Ruggles, Samuel B 187 

Rural Hours 140 

Rutgers, Hendrich 30, 139 

Rutgers, Henry 30, 139 

Rutherford, Catherine 209 

Rutherford, Walter 209 

St. Andrew's Society 222 

St. George's Square 37 

St. John's Episcopal Church ... 17, 18 

St. John's Lane 17 

St. Phillip's Church, Centre St. . . 1 

Sackett, Amanda 164 

Sackett, Wm. H 164 

Samler, Barbarie 55 

Samler, Casper 44, 55 

Samler, Casper, Homestead .... 55 

Samler, John 55 

Sandford, Chas. W 17 

Sandford, David 222 

Scott, John Morrin 222 

Scott, Gen. Winfield 63, 94 

Schermerhorn, Peter 169 

Scholle, Jacob 174 

Schwab, Gustav H VII, 223 

Sergeant, James 119 

Seton, Alfred 104 

Shatzel, John 222 

Sharp, John 159 

Shoemakers', Pasture 163 

Simmons, J. Edward 56 

Simpson, John 44 

Sinclair, Katharine . . . , 198 

Skinner, Dr. Thomas H 143 

Skinner, Col. Wm 183 

Sloo, Nathaniel 29 

Smith, Edmund 159 

Smith, Solomon 118 

Smith, Wm 221 



PAGE 

Smith, Capt. Wm 209 

Smith, Wm. Peartree 209, 222 

Snyder, Edwin 83 

Spencer, Ambrose 81 

Spencer, Wm. A 81 

State Street 217 

Stephens, Benj 78 

Stephens, John L 78 

Stevens, Elizabeth 209 

Stevens, John 209 

Stewart, Alexander L 25 

Stewart, James A 222 

Stewart, Sarah 25 

Stoutenburg, Isaac 147 

Stuyvesant, Nicholas 188 

Suydam, Ferdinand 159 

Suydam, Henry 198 

Swamp Church 44 

Swan, Benj. L 87 

Swarthwout, John 159 

Tammany Hall 43 

Taylor, Moses 197 

Tea Water Pump 59 

Thompson, David 87, 88, 89 

Thompson, Hon. Frederick Diodati . 88 

Thompson, Jonathan 88 

Thorburn, Grant 192 

Tiebout, Cornelius 67 

Tighe, Richard 187 

Tillary, Dr. James 222 

Townsend, Benjamin 6 

" Townsend Family " 5 

Townsend, Sherman B 6 

Traders' Insurance Co 14 

Truckmen's Hotel 5 

Tweed, Wm. M 128 

Tyler, Jacob 43 

Underhill, Isaac 163 

Union Theological Seminary . . 143, 231 

Ullman, Daniel 49 

Van Cliff Street 29 

Van Cortlandt, Augustus 210 

Van Cortlandt, Col Ill 

Van Cortlandt, Frances 210 

Van Cortlandt, Gertrude Ill 



242 






N DE\ 



PAGE 

Van Cortlandt, James 210 

Van Cortlandt, Philip 147 

Van Cortlandt, Col. Stephanus ... Ill 

Van Hook, Lawrence 177 

Van Hook, William 87 

Van Horn, Judith 210 

Van Home, David 21 

Van Ness, Abraham 184 

Van Ness Mansion 183 

Van Rensellar, Stephen 169 

Van Ruyven, Cornelius 209 

Valette, Mary 210 

Vanderbilt, Commodore 143 

Ver Planck, Abraham 209, 210 

Waldron, Cornelia 10 

Waldron, Mary 10 

Waldron, Wm 10 

Walgrove, George 222 

Walhalla, Hall 135 

Wall Street 13, 14 

Wallack, John 94 

Walters, James 119 

Ward, Henry • • . . 50 

Ward, Henry Hall 50 

Warden, John 1 94 

Warren, Sir Peter 183 



PAGE 

Washington, General 123 

Watson, John, " Butcher " 14 

Watts, John 208 

Watts Street 25 

Weatherhead, John 208 

Webster, Daniel 158, 218 

Wells, Richard J 93 

Wendell, John 118 

Weston, Abijah 159, 218 

Wetmore, Wm. S 14 

White, Ann 22 

White, Mrs. Eve 210 

White, Thomas 22 

Whitney, Stephen 158, 217 

Wiletts, Rob't. R 192 

Williams, Cornelius Tiebout . . .68, 187 

Williams, Edward 68 

Williamson, Hugh 124 

Wilson, Prof. Peter 223 

Wolfe, James D 218 

York Street 17, 18 

York Street, Old Houses on 17 

Yates, Ann E 77 

Yates, Jos. C 77, 78 

Zabriskie, Thomas 1 




243 



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